A Certain Messy Predicament
by Cun
Summary: When Mikoto loses a treasured item, how will the joined forces of Touma and Kuroko save the day? Certainly not the way anyone else would...
1. Chapter 1: Misfortune

**Author's note**

This was written/born from a request from Roibeard, who was the awesome 200th reviewer on A Certain Destined Introduction. The request was something like "anything with Kuroko and Touma". So here's something. And yes, I am this slow in writing stories…

This is, timewise, placed right after the second season of Index. Thus, naturally, there may be spoilers for season 2.

Please enjoy, and leave a review and share your thoughts if you have the time!

Thanks to Hollowpoint for beta-ing this.

* * *

><p><strong>A Certain Messy Predicament<br>**by Cun

**Chapter 1: Misfortune**

The nights in Academy City are dark.

In some ways, they seem even darker than in other cities, because the street lights are dimmed and traffic is prohibited during the late hours of the evening.

That said, this night was even darker than usual. It was autumn, winter uniforms were long past put on, and the leaves were only halfheartedly hanging onto the branches, as if they had been convinced by some cosmic power that life just sucks anyway, so why fight the inevitable?

Besides the lack of human-made light, the autumn itself made sure the nights were darker. It was cloudy too, light rain drizzling from the sky, shutting out the light of the stars above. The past few days there had been a continuous downpour, creating large puddles on the sidewalks and keeping people away from the outdoor benches.

Along one main street in District 7, a sidewalk lined the street with a concrete wall taller than a person running along it, shielding the park beyond from the noise and exhaust of the cars and buses that drove through the street during the day. The sidewalk itself was not particularly interesting, and unless you were a fan, nor was the wall where posters depicting an up-coming concert with a famous virtual idol hung. Normally this part of District 7 was completely quiet during the night, like the buildings themselves were resting. But tonight, sounds disrupted the otherwise silent atmosphere. Shoes splashing against the wet asphalt beneath them; breaths, quick and shallow.

Several figures were running down the sidewalk, only lit up now and then by the dimmed street lights above them. It might look like students who had forgotten the time and were running to reach their dorm and avoid a possible downpour at the same time, but this was not entirely true.

The person at the very front was a boy with spiky black hair that was obviously not shaped by natural means, wearing the winter uniform of one certain high school with an eye-catching orange shirt beneath. His name was Kamijou Touma; a name that to many was associated with a savior and ally and possible romantic interest, and to others coerced a look on their face similar to the one you'd offer those black, slimy snails ruining your flower garden.

Kamijou Touma was running with an unlucky grimace on his face.

"Stop, damn you!" Following him was eight or nine guys – he hadn't bothered to count – all trying to catch up with him. They looked like they were older than him, some even sporting neatly trimmed beards.

"Who would stop when you're asking while waving those things around!" Touma yelled back without turning his head. His sneakers hit the wet surface beneath him with vigor, his lungs heaving for air.

"Don't tell me you're afraid of a little shock treatment, you punk!" _Bzzt_, sounds of crackling electricity from their stun guns leapt through the air. It seemed like every thug with respect for himself had one of those devices these days. _Being afraid and not wanting to get hurt are two different things!_ He silently offered his protests.

"Hey, smartass!" Someone grasped at his shoulder, but was unable to get a good hold; gritting his teeth, Touma looked backwards to see a bearded guy with a ponytail slowly catching up with him. He was taller and faster than Touma, and grinned when he saw him look.

"You're pretty fast, but can you outrun a senior on the track team of Bannousenshu High School, _eh_?" The guy launched his hand out again to grab Touma's shoulder, but Touma dodged sideways and hit the concrete wall back first with enough force to knock the air out of him. The guy stumbled when his hand hit nothing but air, but quickly recovered. Touma didn't wait for that though, taking off again before the rest of the group caught up.

"Don't let him escape, damn it!" The one who seemed to act as their boss yelled with a shrill voice not befitting his rather large stature; incidentally, he was one of those lagging the farthest behind. Touma looked upwards as he ran, seeing nothing but the top of the wall and the dark sky above. _Isn't there a park beyond this wall? _He seemed to remember there was.

Though running away might seem cowardly, there was a good reason for doing so. He might have his fair share of street-fights to draw experience from and knew how to put up a fight, but that experience was exactly why he would not take on this many guys equipped with their stun-guns and completely non-esper abilities all at once. His Imagine Breaker was depressingly useless against these kinds of folks, and even though Academy City probably could patch him back up, being cut open by a knife was not a tempting thought. In any case, he was inclined to try and shake them off first, rather than hurting them in a fight. Yes, he was in fact being immensely merciful by running away. And just as he came up with this self-righteous explanation, the chance to live it out presented itself – in the form of a hole in the wall further up ahead, a gate allowing entrance to the park beyond. As if he had just caught a glimpse of the last-minute super-sale in a convenience store, the spiky-haired boy dashed down the sidewalk with even more vigor.

"He's gonna enter the park!" Of course, his obvious escape route was quickly caught up on by his followers, even though he would have liked for them to be blind. Touma hoped they'd give up the chase soon, as he would rather be on his way home at this time of night.

A rumbling sound like that of an engine tore through the night.

"Hey, here they come!"

"The slow bastards; what the hell were they doing?"

Touma looked sideways and saw a car, headlights off like an anonymous dark being in the night as it came hurtling down the street towards them.

_You're kidding me! _He gritted his teeth and sped up. The hole in the wall – the entrance to the park – was coming closer with every step. It was too small for a vehicle to enter, tantalizing him with promises of freedom and prosperity.

"Get him, Hashiri!" The guys shouted at the Bannousenshu student, who was the one closest to getting him. The car was just reaching the street they were running along, revving its engine in an obvious threatening manner, and hopefully attracting the attention of any kind of law-enforcing patrol nearby. There was no reason to linger about and hope that Anti-Skill or someone else with authority to halt this heedless chase would pop by though, and so, with an inward grunt of effort, Touma leapt up a flight of stairs, through the opening to the park, and into the chance of freedom. This part of the park had dirt pathways instead of asphalt roads, and they were muddy and wet after days and days of rain. Of course, this being Touma, he immediately slipped and fell over into the nearest puddle.

"Wah!" He gave a surprised yelp as he hit the ground, but rolled over and was quickly on his feet again, and felt a hand swipe past his collar with frightening closeness. He struck out behind him with a fist and thought he felt it stroke by a chin, but didn't turn to look as he dashed off once more, having lost valuable seconds to this blunder. The gang of pursuers followed inside, but the slowest of them were seriously lagging behind now, growing tired. Only four were still running, with the guy from the athlete school of Bannoushensu at the very front. He was slowly shortening the stretch between them again. _Why are they so insistent! _Touma pushed as much strength into his legs as he could, water dripping from his clothes. He might be able to take down one or two of those guys, assuming he could outmatch them in a fist-fight, but four at once was stretching his luck.

The boss was calling after his comrades from the entrance: "We're sending the car around; don't let him escape!"

_What did I do to deserve this? _Fifteen minutes ago he'd been on his way home, as he should still have been. However, fate wanted him to trip over a loose paving stone and land face first into the bosom of a girl – and though he'd apologized as much as he could, the girl still screamed, as though she had been assaulted by a lecherous old man. It didn't take many seconds before these guys surrounded him, kindly enlightening him that anyone touching one of their girls had to be punished. Touma had done his best to explain, but it ended up in a brawl, where he knocked out one guy and then set off down the street.

Which explained his current situation. He was starting to wonder if they even remembered why they were chasing him, or if they were just having fun at this point. _Such misfortune! _Looking like he was about to cry any moment, Touma tried to up his speed even more, muddy rainwater splashing everywhere with each step, wet uniform sticking to his back.

XXX

In another part of Academy City, inside a certain dorm room, things were heating up. More precisely, the humid air inside the bathroom was warming due to the steaming hot bath that was currently being filled. Rose-perfume and a hint of lavender oil scented the atmosphere pleasantly. Standing in front of the elegant basin sink beside the bathtub, was a girl. She would be the inhabitant of this dorm room, though not the only one. Her roommate was currently out somewhere in the dark evening however.

As such, Shirai Kuroko was alone for now. Her long, auburn red hair was falling loosely past her shoulders; she was wearing a deep lilac bath robe, but was in the process of shedding it. The cloth revealed smooth shoulders and slender arms before falling gracelessly into a heap on the floor.

_A woman should take the time to tend her own needs once in a while_. The girl that was too young to be thinking of herself as a woman adorned an elegant smile on her face as she left the mirror and the sink, stepping over to the bathtub. Carefully dipping a foot into the warm, scented water, tickling pleasantly against her skin, she then submerged her whole body into it. Leaning her back against the hard surface of the tub, she sighed passionately at the luxury. After a long hard day at school followed by tiring Judgment work, nothing was more satisfying than a relaxing bath.

_Aah, if only Onee-sama was here with me… this evening would be… _she imagined her brilliantly smiling roommate in the tub with her, giggling and laughing as she playfully splashed the water between them (which seemed to sparkle magically), and a dreamy look appeared on her relaxed face.

_Tomorrow is our long-awaited anniversary! I will make sure the day proceeds as smoothly as possible._

XXX

"Hey you bastard, why don't you face us like a real man, eh?" The longhaired thug with a cocky smile on his face delivered his taunt without even losing his breath. "Or do you make a habit out of touching every girl you come across and then running off like a coward? Pfeh!" He spit at the ground in disgust without losing his speed.

_I can't outrun him like this! _Touma had no more speed to draw forth, and he wasn't religious enough to believe in miracles dropping from the sky; thus, he could only conclude he would be caught at this rate. He offered a short glance backwards and saw the guy gaining on him, the other two pursuers that hadn't left with the car seriously lagging behind now.

Touma made a decision. Suddenly, he planted his right foot into the surface in front of him and turned around with his right fist clenched beside his chest and his face sporting a scary look. "RAAAH!" His throat uttered a terrifying roar that would probably scare off a less hardy person.

"Wha –" His chaser was a mere meter or so away, and unable to stop at such short notice. He tried to pull his head back, but was not fast enough – and Touma's fist still hit him squarely in the cheek with a bone-crushing sound, fuelled by his own momentum from the turn. His knuckles cried out at the impact, and he nearly tripped over from the force of his attack. The other guy was knocked off-balance and landed in the mud with a grunt, and Touma straightened up again, breathing heavily.

"Hashiri!" The guys who were following them shouted out when they saw their buddy fall to the ground gracelessly. Touma prepared himself, ready to take them on. With one of them knocked out, he could probably fight off the remaining two...

_VRRROOOOM! _At that instant, the sound of a revving engine tore through the air. Touma felt all the color drain from his face, and looked sideways. With a screeching sound, the car came trashing over a small hill, spraying mud and grass everywhere and knocking off a mirror as it brushed by a tree; the rest of the gang was hanging out of the windows, whistling and laughing loudly.

"Here we come, yeaah!"

Touma did not stay to consider; he ran.

"The bastard took down Rambo!" One of his on-foot pursuers shouted, but his worries were answered with laughter and more whistling.

"Who cares; we have a car! Let's run him over!"

_Shit shit shit shit! _Touma ran all he could, trying to up his speed yet stay steady on the slippery road; behind him, the car revved its engine again, and mud splattered in all directions; suddenly, the lights were turned on, shining him directly in the back of his head. Would they really run him over after they grew tired of taunting? He didn't know if they were the types to kill someone, but he did suspect he would be in for a whole lot of pain if they did catch him, so he'd rather not chance it._ Shiiiit!_

XXX

Slowly, the girl in the bathtub let out a deep breath. _Onee-sama is still not back… it is past curfew already, and the dorm mistress will be making her rounds soon… _While the curfew was the latest allowed time for them to be outside their rooms, 'lights off' was an hour after that. The dorm mistress made her rounds half an hour after lights off on select days of the week, always unannounced. If caught unprepared, punishment would come your way.

Kuroko hadn't seen her roommate since this morning; she suspected she was at the arcade and had forgotten the time again. She seemed to have been doing that a lot lately, as if she was thoroughly bored whenever there were peaceful days in Academy City. Kuroko found that trait both annoying and charming.

_Still, if the dorm mistress catches her being late again we'll be given detention. _She wouldn't want that to happen, as there were much more important things they should be doing together the next day.

One slender hand reached up onto the low cabinet beside the bathtub, where their shampoos and body soaps adorned the surface. A small white cell phone also lay there, and Kuroko picked it up. Pushing the speed dial to her Onee-sama, she put the small phone to her ear, gazing dreamily into the air all the while.

XXX

Normally, no middle school girl would choose the dark and secluded park as their route home during the night. The possibility of running into some shady figure grinning lecherously from the shadows was enough to scare the guts out of anyone. But such worries only applied to about 70% of the city's population, and were completely alien to the girl currently walking quickly through the park. If anything, those shady people would be avoiding the park to not bump into _her._

Misaka Mikoto, also known as the ace of Tokiwadai Middle School and the Level 5 Railgun, was hurrying along the park road while silently cursing the arcade for staying open until after her curfew. _It's already twenty minutes past; that Old Gooseberry is going to rip my head off… _She'd been so into the new fighting game that she hadn't noticed that three hours had gone by. It had become increasingly hard to sneak past the dorm mistress to her room too, since the woman knew all her tricks by now. Her only solace was that the woman couldn't watch everywhere at once, so she'd just have to choose the right strategy.

While thinking of how to best enter her room unseen, the low croaking of agathering of frogs indicating her phone ringing split the air. She dug into her skirt pocket and pulled out the green frog-shaped phone; a dangling strap with a Gekota figure hung from it, further speaking of the owner's tastes. The caller's name flashed at her, and she put the phone to her ear with a small huff."Yes, what is it, Kuroko?"

"Oneeee-sama~ Kuroko is in the bath, all wet and ready for—" Mikoto hung up.

A second later, the phone started ringing again. Mikoto answered it again, sighing. "If you're going to say something else perverted, I swear I'll electrify you through the line."

"Aaah, Onee-sama…" Kuroko complained childishly, yet still in a sensual tone of voice that was impossible for most people to pull off. "Kuroko just wanted to remind you about curfew time… how come you're always so cold towards me?" The last part was uttered in a thoroughly childish whine.

Mikoto sighed. "I wonder. Could it have something to do with you consistently putting me in embarrassing situations by throwing yourself at me in public restaurants or –"

"Aah, Onee-sama! It is impossible to resist the natural force of attraction between us!"

"There's no such force to begin with! Get your head out of that fairytale world of yours and start paying attention to reality!"

"Mou, you have no sense of romance…"

"I don't like hearing that from you!" Mikoto barked, fairly red-faced by now. "Anyway, I'm on my way home. The arcade really should do a better job of reminding people about the curfew…"

"Onee-sama, you do realize the dorm mistress will not accept such an excuse."

"Of course I do." Mikoto sighed. "Anyway, I'm in the park, so there's only 15 minutes or so left. Keep the dorm mistress at bay for me, will you? Oh, and open up a window please."

"Sure~ I will see you home soon, Onee-sama!"

Just as she hung up, Mikoto heard another sound in the silent air, and looked up. It was a sound that had no good reason for being heard at this time of night, and certainly not inside a park. _Is that a car engine?_

XXX

Touma forced his way through a set of evergreen bushes, snapping branches and tearing his school jacket at the same time. Wincing at the various amounts of pain, he finally got out on the other side and onto the path again. He might have earned himself a ten second lead on the car with breaching through that wall of bushes, but just as he started running again, it skidded around the turn behind him, mud flying everywhere as the wheels spun. The guys inside kept hooting and whistling, laughing at his futile efforts of trying to escape them.

Touma pushed himself on, and took off to the right when he reached a fork in the road.

That's when he saw her. Just a few meters in front of him, phone in front of her as if just hanging up on a conversation, and a surprised expression on her face as she noticed him coming towards her; Misaka Mikoto. His eyes widened. _Why's she—?_

The girl opened her mouth as if to say something, but in that instantthe car came skidding around the corner as well, lights glaring onto his back and into her eyes. She raised her arm to shadow her face in a reflexive maneuver, and Touma felt his heart rise into his throat. _She's right in their path! _

There was no time for thinking. "Misaka!" His arm reached out as his feet moved on their own, pushing him forward.

The car howled its horn, drowning all other sounds; he could hear it approaching quickly. Touma crashed into the smaller body of the girl in front of him and wound his arms around her torso, pulled her sideways off her feet and jumped forward; sending them both tumbling to the ground and onwards into the muddy ditch of a river beside the road. They hit the water with a splash and a thud, splattering it everywhere.

"Oof!" She let out a half-pained, half-surprised sound as her back hit the ground; the car blasted past behind them and sprayed them with more dirty rainwater, then screeched as the brakes were pushed and the vehicle fought to stop on the slippery surface.

Touma pulled himself up from the mud and looked down at the girl below him. "Are you okay?"

"Wha – what – what the –!" She could hardly speak; she was completely flabbergasted at what had just happened.

"Did you hit your head? Are you feeling all right?" He put a hand to her forehead, and she grew completely red.

"Wh-wh-what the hell!"

"Wooo, the run-away guy found himself a cute girl!" The thugs were exiting the car with cocky grins, sauntering over in a relaxed tempo now that Touma had stopped running. "It's not like using her as an excuse will make us go easier on you though." Their boss grinned, cracking his knuckles. He looked like he might have been doing boxing for many years, with his sturdy body. "You messing with our girls and beating up our guys; we're not gonna let you go for that, you know?"

Touma gritted his teeth, grabbed Mikoto by the wrist and stood up, pulling her with him.

"Wha—!" She sputtered, crashing into his chest and immediately her face burst into fire.

"Let's go!" He said, and then ran off across the river, dragging her with him. She followed, stumbling the first few steps in surprise before her feet found consistent ground again.

"Hey!" The gang leader called, but they didn't stop to listen; Touma heard them swear before jumping into the car again, and the engine revved to life.

"What the heck's up with you!" Mikoto, fairly red-faced, barked at him. Despite being almost one head shorter she had no problems keeping up with him as they ran over the wet grass through bushes and between trees. As she had proven during the Daihaseisai, she was able to sprint at amazing speeds for quite an amount of time.

"Those guys are armed; it's dangerous to face them head on!" Touma explained in-between breaths.

"And why exactly do I have to run again?" She asked dryly.

_I don't want to have another group of people's injuries on my conscience! _He just kept running with an unlucky expression on his face. As long as he had a hold on her like this, there was no danger of uncontrolled lightning strikes flying all over at least. He wasn't sure why he felt like he needed to protect those guys, but he found it somewhat depressing that his valiant effort of running away would end up in a simple electrifying moment from this short-tempered girl.

They heard the car rattling across the bridge further behind them, and then the wheels hit the road again and the vehicle shot down the path, quickly gaining on them as they ran along the same path now.

Mikoto threw a look back. "Not that I think it's possible, but can you outrun a car? Uwaah—!" Touma made an abrupt turn and nearly pulled her off her feet in the process. They dashed up a stone staircase onto a plateau in the park, and the car flew past below, the men inside yelling and laughing, sounding like they were having the time of their lives.

"This entire area is surrounded by the path; they'll just drive around." Mikoto said, looking over until she could no longer see the car through the leaves holding halfheartedly onto the trees around them. She looked up at the back of Touma's head. His breath was heaving, and his hand clamped firmly around her wrist. She reddened slightly, but stubbornly stomped it away. "Do you have a plan or something?" She asked instead.

"I'm – running!" He gasped, too exhausted to talk much.

"I can see that!" She barked back. "So what, these guys are your acquaintances or something?"

He didn't answer, and she gave a huff.

They ran past several picnic tables and a small fountain, then down another set of stairs, and suddenly found themselves on the park road again. It was paved here, which made it easier to run on. But that meant it was easier for the car to drive on as well. Further up the road, the vehicle skidded around the corner, headlights flashing them from the side.

"Damn!" Touma shadowed his face with his free hand. He'd hoped to be able to reach the next plateau before they came around, but he was growing tired. It felt like his legs were jelly figures rather than human limbs, and the meters separating them from the next flight of stairs to another plateau might as well be miles. This headless chase wasn't going to do them any good unless they found a way out where the car couldn't follow.

The car revved and sped towards them, and Touma gritted his teeth, looking around. _I need to—! _He saw salvation as his eyes found a smaller road continuing on into the park, blocked by large rocks to hinder vehicles from moving through. "This way!" But just as his feet started moving towards it, Mikoto pulled her hand loose, leaving his fingers grasping emptily in the air. "Misaka!" He turned around, heart in his throat. The girl stuck a hand into her pocket, calmly eying the approaching car with the guys leaning out of the windows, yelling eagerly.

"I don't prefer having you drag me around like a lady in distress or something." She pulled a coin out of her pocket and raised it towards the oncoming car. "This is an exclusive lesson in 'Learn to Survive with Mikoto-sensei', so you better pay attention!"

Blue snakes of electricity leapt from her hand; her thumb hit the coin in a harmless flick, and a blur of an extremely hot orange beam tore through the air, the roar of thunder deafening Touma effectively, even though he smacked his hands to his ears. The car was hit by an electric blast powerful enough to bring down several brick walls; of course, it was not hit head on, or they would be visiting the cemetery next. However even when the railgun only passed by the vehicle grazing its coating along the side, the shock was enough to knock it sideways into the air, and the entire vehicle made an awkward pirouette in a forward spin and hit the ground up-side down beside them, windows shattering and metal grinding and the guys inside thrown around like tumbleweeds on the dry savannah. The car slid along the wet grass until it hit the rocks blocking the path Touma had planned to use for his escape. When the car finally stilled, an eerie silence spread around them. The wheels spun uselessly in the air; two guys had been slung out of the open passenger windows, hitting the ground with a thud and not getting up, though Touma thought he could see their fingers twitching. A smoking crater was running along the pathway where the railgun had blown past.

If anyone had come by at this point, they would probably have turned around right away and pretended they hadn't seen anything.

Touma felt defeated. His entire evasion maneuver had just been wasted in one second, and his legs were screaming at the unnecessary extra work-out he'd forced them through.

Mikoto pulled a stray lock of hair behind her ear and sighed. She then put a hand on her waist and turned around to look at Touma. "That's how you deal with a car coming at you. Got it?"

He sighed deeply. "It's not like anyone else can do that, you know. How can you fire that deadly thing so calmly anyway?"

"Huh? It's not like they're dead or anything. The car's plenty modern with all the necessary safety measures. Look, some of them are even groaning." She looked like he'd asked the most obvious thing in the world. He scratched his head, knowing his questions might as well not be asked in the first place. He looked over at the crashed vehicle; the airbags had activated the moment the car hit the ground. _I really hope they're okay though… _As much as he didn't like them, he didn't wish this kind of thing to happen to anyone. Then again, choosing between being run over by a car or having a few thugs blasted off the street was hardly a choice in the first place.

He hung his shoulders in a defeated manner. "Such misfortune."

"Don't tell me you'd rather be beaten senseless by those guys." Mikoto huffed. "Honestly, you always drag disaster everywhere you go. Don't you have a normal hobby like everyone else?" She looked at him as if he was a criminal for being in this situation.

"With everything going on, there's no time for hobbies…" He sighed and scratched his head. In all honesty, he'd liked to have a few days off to relax in front of the TV or hang out with his friends. Lately, there had been little time to do such things.

He pulled out his cell phone to check the time, and was disheartened at the result. Mikoto, who noticed the Gekota strap dangling from his phone, reddened at the sight.

Sighing, he put the phone back into his pocket and looked up. "I guess Anti-Skill will show up here soon enough. Let's… eh?" He stopped, noticing her fiery face. "What's wrong?"

"N-n-nothing!" Mikoto bit out, shaking her head quickly.

Touma was puzzled, but didn't ask. "Anyway, let's get out of here before they come." He was feeling too wet and cold for comfort to try and explain the situation to the officials. This evening really could have been better.

"Jeez, you're always trying to run away, aren't you?" Mikoto huffed.

"I don't know about you, but I'd rather get home and change into something dry instead of spending another thirty minutes explaining to Anti-Skill what went on here." It might not be the mindset of a loyal citizen, but Touma had never been one of those to begin with.

Mikoto gave an annoyed sigh. Then she looked over at the car solemnly. "I guess you're right."

XXX

Ten minutes later, Touma put his hands on his knees and bent over. "Aaah, I'm completely exhausted…" His muscles were burning up by now, the strain of his evening marathon finally catching up. If his common sense hadn't told him otherwise, he would have laid down on the road right here to rest.

"You can blame yourself for running around like that." Mikoto huffed as she came up beside him, arms folded over her chest. Her cheeks were slightly red, and her uniform was completely dirtied, but she seemed unfairly energetic, somehow."How come you picked a fight with those morons anyway?"

"I told you – I did not pick a fight." Touma protested. "I just…" He couldn't really explain it.

"Well, in any case; let's duel." She suddenly grinned confidently, cracking the knuckles on her left hand with her right.

"You want to fight, even after all that?" He wondered if she had some unsaturated need for violence. Really, were ojou-sama's supposed to act this way? It might be that his image of ojou-sama's was flawed in general, but she seemed as far off as you could come.

She was put off by his lack of enthusiasm. "After knocking me into the mud and dragging me around like that the least you could do is face me seriously for once!"

Touma sighed deeply, feeling like he might as well argue with a brick.

"Stop acting so miserable; you should be honored the Railgun regards you as a worthy opponent!" Mikoto barked, growing steadily redder. "Not many people have that status, you know!"

"Somehow, I don't feel like bragging." He muttered, straightening up while rubbing his neck. _Are all girls homicidal maniacs? _He felt like he'd never want to get married at this rate. Even his own mother was fairly violent at times. It seems like that gentle, shy little girl with a cute face and body would never appear before him – then again, if she did she was certain to have some underlying desire of killing him. And he preferred the more mature ones in any case. Then again, weren't those types usually more aggressive? Realizing he was doomed either way, he sighed; "I guess I'll see you later then, Biribiri."

"Wh-wh-w-why won't you get it through your thick skull! I'm not _biribiri_!" She stomped her foot stubbornly, both embarrassed and offended at once.

He looked at her, and then smiled. "You certainly are, though."

She was stumped, growing even redder, and he took that moment to jog off, waving; "See you around, Misaka!"

Mikoto stared after him until he disappeared behind a corner, her entire face pink.

Then she shook her head and slapped her cheeks so fiercely it stung, leaving more dirt on her face as a result. _Why is he always so…! Gaaah, I don't get it, what's up with that moron! _She ruffled her hair in annoyance, and then hung her head with a defeated sigh. _I should probably get back to the dorm._ Her wet uniform was growing cold against her skin, slowly stealing the warmth in her body away, and it was starting to drip from the skies, promising another rainy night. _I hope Kuroko isn't occupying the bathroom… _

XXX

The pitter-patter of raindrops against the windows and the distant rumble of thunder were all that could be heard inside a certain dorm room.

_Oooh, Onee-sama, why-why-why-whyyy won't you pick up? _Kuroko looked at her cell phone with a pained expression on her face. She had finished drying her hair and dressing in her sleepwear (a light purple night dress) and was currently occupying Mikoto's bed and pillow, her insides wringing around in despair. Mikoto had told her she was about 15 minutes away; now nearly 40 had passed. The dorm mistress had come by, and Kuroko had smiled and told her Mikoto was in the bathroom; she'd left the shower on and teleported out of the room after locking the door, just in case. The woman had seemed skeptical, and Kuroko was certain she'd be coming back before long to check on them again.

All her attempts to call Mikoto back after that had ended in automatic answers at the central however, saying "the number you are trying to reach is currently not available" or something of the sort. Naturally, she was starting to get worried. _Did something happen to her? Did she get abducted, captured by a sadist with a Capacity Down in his possession? Aaaah imagine all the things he would be able to do to her with such a device! I can't believe I never thought of that! Nuuuuh, where are you, Onee-sama! _She was just about considering going out to look for her when:

"I'm back." The voice of her roommate sounded, and Kuroko's heart immediately soared. Mikoto climbed in through the window Kuroko had opened earlier, and closed it shut behind herself, shutting out the sounds of the wet autumn weather. "God it's wet outside…"

"Onee-sama, welcome home!" She jumped out of bed to greet her roommate with a beaming smile on her face; "Did you forget your umbrella? Mou, you're so hopeless – gah!" The moment she saw the other girl, her expression turned dreadful, and instead of throwing herself around the other's neck as was first planned, she backed off as if avoiding a contaminated container of expired food.

Mikoto gave her a dry look. "What?"

"O-Onee-sama!" Kuroko's eyes were huge with horror. "Y-y-your face – your uniform—!" She had no words to describe the scene in front of her; Onee-sama's face and hands were grimed with mud, her uniform smeared with dirt. Not only were she dirty; everything was drenched in water too, more than what should have stemmed from the lack of an umbrella. The brilliant radiance of the other girl was like the Star of Bethlehem in Kuroko's religion; now it was but a black hole, sucking away all light from its surroundings.

Mikoto huffed. "I slipped and fell into a puddle; what's with the long face?"

"What kind of puddle was that?" Kuroko asked in disbelief. "Besides that, what happened to you to come home this late?" She frowned. "Don't tell me you entered another pointless fight with that gentleman of yours?"

"He's no gentleman." Mikoto protested, though her cheeks reddened slightly. "And why do you care what I'm doing anyway?" She slipped off her shoes, and then her socks, grimed with dirt and dripping with water. As though Kuroko wasn't even there, she muttered; "What's up with knocking me over into the mud like that anyway…"

"Onee-sama!" Kuroko gasped. "You participated in mud wrestling _without_ _me_!"

"I can't even follow your train of thought, so think whatever you like." Mikoto sighed, placing her shoes and socks by the bed. "I'll just shower and go to sle–"

"Ah, Kuroko will wash off this bothersome mud for you!" Kuroko announced happily.

"No thank you!"

"Ah, so stingy. Then, why did you not pick up the phone, Onee-sama?" Kuroko asked. "I was so worried when you wouldn't answer!"

"What are you talking about?" Mikoto asked, putting a hand in her pocket. "You haven't called me; my phone hasn't…" her words died off and her face turned slightly worried. "Eh…?"

While Kuroko watched, she checked the other pocket, and then the first one again. Her expression was suddenly pale. When she started looking around on the floor, Kuroko felt inclined to say something.

"Onee-sama…? Did you lose something?"

Mikoto looked like someone had just speared her chest. She laughed just a bit too brightly and straightened, pulling a hand through her wet hair. "Hahaha, of course not! It's nothing, nothing… I'll go shower now…" She turned to walk towards the bathroom again, but Kuroko, frowning now, pulled out her cell phone and quickly pushed a few buttons. Mikoto stiffened, as if sensing the signals emitting from the device and anticipating the worst.

Kuroko's phone made a few calls, screen alight with the number displayed.

…nothing happened.

"Onee-sama, where is your cell phone?" Kuroko asked at last.

Mikoto didn't answer. Nor did she move or look at her roommate. Her lack of response was enough for Kuroko to understand.

"Aaah…" The teleporter said slowly. Her face slowly grimaced, as if torn between wanting to laugh loudly or look like she regretted this situation. "Aaahaaha… T-that means… I mean, it's awful, but this means…"

Mikoto glanced back at her, saw her expression and tsk'ed. "What's with that face?"

Kuroko fought heroically to keep a straight face. "Ah, that is, we shouldn't let such a terrible situation get to us, Onee-sama. It is a pity, but now I can finally get you a new cell phone!" She could barely breathe from the happiness swelling in her chest. "No Gekota straps, no frog croaks and no green, glaring colors! Truly, this is an era ending and a new age can finally begin!" Somehow, she didn't sound sorry at all.

Mikoto's hands clenched and her jaw tightened. "You…"

"Now now, Onee-sama, while this stressful situation might be hard to accept, we must deal with it as best we can." Kuroko teleported over to her side and elegantly removed the wet jacket in a heartbeat. Mikoto jolted. "What the – Kuroko!"

"We must not risk you catching a cold with our important day coming up." Kuroko said, beaming happily. "Let's wash you off and go to bed fresh and fit for our day tomorrow… we'll start out with a shopping trip to find you a new phone."

Mikoto shoved her away before she managed to get her shirt. "Who said I wanted to go shopping with you?"

Kuroko sighed. "Alas, while this is a tragic incident indeed, you cannot think to walk around without a cell phone in this day and age? There are a lot of new phones out there that are perfectly fit for the ace of Tokiwadai; the ZenZen 1300 is even specially designed for Electromasters—"

"There was nothing wrong with my old phone!"

"Even so, it is gone, is it not? Don't tell me you'd rather go out to search for it?" Kuroko tossed a look over at the closed window, where rain splattered against the glass now. The weather was less than tempting to go out to search puddles and muddy patches of grass in the dark for something that may very well be long gone, and most definitely was not working optimally anymore after lying exposed in the rain. "Aside from that fact, the dorm mistress will give us a series of detentions if she comes back to find the room vacant; it was all I could do to ward her off the first time." She concluded.

Mikoto hesitated, looking troubled, while Kuroko eyed her scrutinizingly. Finally, her shoulders fell. "I just – it's just – the strap—!" She cut off abruptly, her face reddening at an alarming rate.

Kuroko's eyes widened. "What's with this dangerous development! Furthermore, you haven't had that thing on it for more than a few days; don't tell me it's become sentimental to you already?"

"O-of course not!" Mikoto protested, looking away to hide her reddening cheeks. "The s-strap was just… e-expensive, that's all…" It seemed like her face grew even redder; one could possibly fry an egg on it by now.

"GAAAAAAH!" Kuroko looked like a legitimate copy of the famous painting 'the Scream' with her hands planted on her cheeks like that. "Onee-sama… stuttering like that… blushing so cutely… this – this is… heart-breaking yet so alluring!"

"I'm not s-stuttering or anything!" Mikoto protested.

"You are! You're acting like a love-struck teenager spelled by surging hormones!"

"I am not! Stop being an idiot or I'll fry you!" Mikoto's threat put a stop to the childish banter, mostly because her fringe was starting to emit electric currents into the air. A crack of thunder sounded in the distance, and though Kuroko doubted it had any connection, the effect was appropriately unsettling nonetheless.

"Aaah, Onee-sama, please watch your blood pressure…" She tried to amend herself by smiling sweetly, while her brain worked actively. _Being so upset over that childish thing… _To be honest, she felt it would be better if both the phone and the strap were forever lost. However, as things stood now, her Onee-sama's upset mood might destroy everything.

_At this rate she's likely to call off our big day! _Her expression grew worried. _I never thought I'd use it for this purpose, but it seems I have no choice… _Determinedly, she pulled out the holographic screen on her own cell phone. As a Judgment member, she was always prepared. "Do not despair, Onee-sama; I will find your Gekota phone this very instant!"

"If you're thinking about that radio signal transmitter you installed on it, I disabled that thing a long time ago." Mikoto told her in a completely level tone of voice.

Kuroko was stumped. "Aah, in that case…" Anything else… The Central Cell Phone Position System? But without proper authorization it would take Uiharu's skills to get inside the system. _Besides, that's only useful if the phone is still switched on, and obviously it isn't…_

While she stood there contemplating, it seemed like Mikoto's shoulders drooped. "Forget it; I'll just shower and go to bed. It's not like it's the end of the world or anything. Haha." After giving a disheartening laugh, she walked towards the bathroom again, not even looking at her roommate.

"Onee-sama…" Kuroko was left standing in her wake feeling rather helpless.

When the door to the bathroom closed shut, her hand clenched around the phone in her hand. _That indecent polyp! This is all his fault!_

XXX

Touma sneezed violently.

"Ack, I'm gonna be sick…" He sniffled and shuddered, even with the warm water from the shower drumming at his back. His nose was running, his feet and hands freezing, his hair drooping with heavy, muddy rainwater, and a certain gluttonous person was out in his living room, starving for food and attention both. No matter how tired he was, he'd have to go grocery shopping first thing in the morning, even though his wallet was already so slim it could pass as a yen note on its own.

Touma sighed and made an unhappy face. "At least I got away from Biribiri without a fight…" That was a small solace. When he'd been walking home from the park, he heard Anti-Skill's sirens in the distance, and silently thanked some unnamed deity that they'd avoided staying behind for much longer. He'd barely made it to his dorm before the rain broke out too. _I wonder if this can be counted as being lucky…_

After rinsing his hair three times, he turned off the shower and wrapped a towel around himself.

"Toumaa!" The shrill voice of his uninvited live-in called from the living room. "You've been in there for 30 minutes already; when are you coming out here to order our food?"

"Haaaai, Index-san, I'm coming right out." He called back while drying off, before pulling on a loosely fit T-shirt and pants. "I did tell you it's too late to order anything now though, didn't I?" He asked as he opened the door to the living room.

Index was kneeling in front of the TV, way closer than the warnings on the shows she watched intended. She sighed, giving the impression of a precocious kid. "Touma, they're open all night."

"Really?" That was new. All traffic was prohibited after all, so the only way for the food to reach your door would be by foot or bike. Touma supposed there were some who saw the opportunity to earn money by offering services no-one else did. "Why didn't you order then?"

"I tried, but they hung up." Index said.

"Haaah?" Even stranger. What kind of restaurant hangs up on their customers, and especially one that would bring in a fortune? Maybe she ordered so much they thought it was a joke?

"The woman in the other end didn't understand my order at all." Index said, shaking her head as if amused by the silly person. "I guess it's a guy thing, in this country."

"What are you talking about?" Touma laughed, picking up his cell phone from the kitchen counter. "You didn't try to order something impossible did you, like a three-story pizza?"

"Hmph." Index puffed her cheeks out.

"So which one did you call?" Touma said, looking through the list of nearby fast-food restaurants on his phone; all of them seemed to close shortly after curfew.

"The one with the lady that answers."

"I can't tell which one based on that…" Touma sighed and navigated to his call log, where the last number called would be displayed. It looked like Index had been talking to the restaurant for nearly ten minutes. He copied the number into the web browser and hit search.

_Hm, is this it?_ He eyed the top result and pressed the link for more information. As soon as the page popped up, his eyes widened. "Nh—Wha—?" His expression grew more and more horrified as he watched the screen of his phone. His eyes landed on the price tag, his mind multiplied it with the amount of minutes in his call log, and he could swear he heard his wallet scream in pain.

"I-I-Index-san, where did you find this number…?"

"In this magazine." Index raised a crumpled magazine that must have been found stuffed away somewhere, as the title suggested it was not usually laid out in a guy's apartment for a girl to find. Touma's face cracked into complete panic. Words were printed all over the page Index was holding: _'Hungry, boy?', 'exotic snacks or homemade extremes', 'Instant delivery', 'open all night', 'guilty pleasure… rawr'._

No wonder the woman who answered the phone had no idea what to make of Index trying to order pizza. _She spent ten minutes trying to understand what kind of service Index wanted! Do they really have such obscure choices, or is Index's way of ordering pizza completely foreign?_

"Um, Index-san…" He started talking, but when she looked up at him with a puzzled face, his skin broke out into sweat. He really didn't want to explain this.

"I don't get this part about guilty pleasure though," Index said, looking back at the page. "Is it about eating unhealthy fast food when you should be making your own food instead? I guess Japanese boys really are no different than others." She sighed.

"Uh-huh, that's it!" Touma beamed, sweat running down his face. "Silly, eh? Haha! I guess we'll have to make do with whatever's left in the fridge after all!" _Pleasedon'tturnthepagepleasedon'tturnthepage!_

"The fridge is already empty." Index sighed. "Maybe there's another phone number we can call?" She turned the page.

What happened next could probably be measured as a small earthquake on the Richter scale.

* * *

><p><strong>Note:<strong>

It was surprisingly refreshing to write Touma, after trying and trying and trying some more to find a way that seemed to fit his character and my writing style and my likeness to him. Well, I had some practice with A Certain Cliché Switchover, though this story was started before that one ^^;

I even wrote Index. Now that's something I never thought I'd do.

I'm pretty pleased with this chapter. If you see anything odd or feel like anything's off, please tell me.  
>Reviewing may help up my motivation to write faster, but as always, even if noooobody reviews I'll still update, someday...<p>

Words and terms:_  
>Bannousenshu<em> (万能選手) means "all-around athlete". It's a school that focuses on raising athletes, obviously. It has a program for espers and non-espers both.

**Next time: **Kuroko strikes, and Touma… is unlucky.

Oh, and by the way: Please ignore my lack of skills in coming up with titles. It was a place-holder title that has been stuck for a year... I tried to change it... but it's really stuck...


	2. Chapter 2: Forcibly Voluntary

**Forcibly Voluntary**

The next day was a Saturday. On a normal weekday, the students of Tokiwadai would be up early and gather in the dorm's cafeteria for breakfast before leaving for school in the designated Tokiwadai school buses. Today however, only a handful of students were present in the cafeteria by the time Kuroko entered the room. At one of the tables a girl sat sighing, one hand supporting her head and the other using the chopsticks to poke at her food. She was so lost in her thoughts she did not notice the incoming missile before it hit her.

"Onee-samaaa!" Kuroko happily threw her arms over her roommate's shoulders, beaming like a child on Christmas Eve.

"Gwah!" Mikoto, who was knocked forward by the impact, barely avoided having her face smeared into the plate on the table.

"Good morning, Onee-sama!" Kuroko twittered happily, halfway laying on Mikoto's back over the back of the chair. "Why are you up this early on a Saturday? You're not planning to go stand-reading manga at this time of the week, are you?"

"Jeez, I nearly shocked you…" Mikoto pushed her away and sighed. "The new manga isn't out before Monday. It's not that early anyway; it's already 9 am. I couldn't really pretend to be asleep anymore."

"Is that so. Hmmm." Kuroko studied her closely.

Mikoto looked at her questioningly. "What?"

"Are you okay now?"

"Whaaat?" Mikoto's face split into a half-grin. "I'm fine, fine, there's no reason why I shouldn't be, is there? Haha."

"Then I shall amend it, Onee-sama!"

"I said I'm fine! What's to amend?" Mikoto bit out, then sighed. "It's not like losing a phone is the end of the world or anything."

Kuroko put her hands on her hips. "The phone is one thing, but isn't it that strap that bothers you the most?"

Mikoto stiffened. Glancing off, she said: "I-it's not like that… I mean, it's just that there was a lot of trouble involved getting it… signing up with that Handy Antenna Pair contract thing with that idiot and all…" her cheeks reddened as she muttered the last bit.

Kuroko's eyebrows threatened to jump off her face from the excessive twitching. She forced a smile onto her face. "Maa, Onee-sama, this is the perfect opportunity for us to sign up as well!"

"You can only sign up once. Besides, it's for boy-girl couples only!"

"Such discrimination…" Kuroko tsk'ed. "In that case, there is no choice. Let us start our celebration by finding a new phone for you!" She beamed.

"About that…" Mikoto said, "what's this anniversary and celebration you keep mentioning? It's not like we have anything in particular to celebrate except us becoming roommates, right?"

Kuroko clasped her hands together. "Aah, Onee-sama regards our moving in with each other as something to celebrate after all!" Her eyes glittered. "My, had I known this I would have made sure to properly celebrate our two, three, four and five months anniversaries~"

"I thought you already did that." Mikoto sighed. Then she put her chopsticks down, and pushed her chair out. "I appreciate the thought, but I don't really feel like celebrating anything today."

"Where are you going?" Kuroko asked as the other girl walked past her.

"I just feel like getting some fresh air." Mikoto said solemnly. "See you later, Kuroko." She left her breakfast half-eaten on the table and walked towards the exit.

"Ah, Onee-sama, I'll—!" Kuroko started after her, but in that instant Mikoto threw a brilliant smile over her shoulder that was so cool it made Kuroko freeze mid-step.

"Aah, no need, really. You'd just be bored." Mikoto's tone was cheerful the way a madman is cheerful while pressing a sharpened knife to the victim's throat. There was a lot more to those words than what was let on, but only a drunken investigator would challenge that smile to ask for clarification. Therefore, still frozen, Kuroko looked after Mikoto as she left the cafeteria. Despite the chill atmosphere, sweat ran down her face. She could swear the physical tension in the air was tangible all the way until the door closed behind the other girl.

_This is not good. _At this rate their day would be ruined – not to mention whatever her Onee-sama ended up taking her stress out on. There was just one thing to do in this situation. Kuroko turned away from the table and pulled out her cell phone. Then, before anyone could guess what the longhaired Judgment member was planning to do, she was gone.

XXX

At the corner of a busy shopping street in District 15, a small café called 'the Lil'Rose' resided. It was particularly popular amongst young girls for its fresh selection of smoothies and cakes that seemed luxurious without being too expensive (almost like a subdued variant of the cafes found inside the Garden of Education). It also served a simple lunch menu and different kinds of teas; all in all, a pretty roundabout place with a good customer rate.

Two girls were sitting at one of the tables on the curb, overlooking the busy street beyond the simple fence marking the café's outdoor area. It was quite early in the morning to be out at a café, but every Saturday the Lil'Rose slapped up a breakfast menu at an affordable price, and like its other products, this one was also popular. These girls had just finished one breakfast menu each, and were currently having dessert. Because you can't possibly eat a meal at a café without having dessert, even if it's breakfast.

"No, it's true!" Aside from eating dessert, the duo was also having a good-spirited argument. The longhaired girl, Saten Ruiko, was currently trying to convince her stubborn friend that the rumors she had heard were actually real. Judging from their tone, this was nothing new.

"No way, I'm not buying it this time!" Uiharu Kazari had short, fluffy dark hair, and attracted quite the attention with the flowery headband adorning it. It made her head look like a decorated flower pot rather than just someplace for the hair to grow.

None of the girls were wearing school uniforms today, as unlike Tokiwadai, Sakugawa middle school did not require their students to wear uniforms at all times. They were instead dressed in outfits meant for the chill autumn weather, yet still girly enough for them to feel comfortable. Ruiko had pulled her phone out of a pocket and was tapping the screen eagerly. "Come on, with this evidence here even you can't say this is fake, Uiharu!" She leaned forward over the table and nearly shoved the phone into her friend's face.

Kazari turned her head away defiantly. "I'm not looking! Last time was the last drop; I'm not going to listen to your incredible rumors ever again!" She was, while trying to be stubborn right now, actually a fairly easy-going girl with a habit of becoming caught up in whatever she found interesting. However, incredible rumors in Academy City were something of the past for her: As a Judgment member and a down-to-Earth person at heart, she would not believe in pink squirrels, invisible public toilets or talking street lights ever again.

"Jeez, you're no fun…" Ruiko sat back with a sigh. "Besides, most of the urban legends actually have grounds in real events, you know? Like the Undressing Woman; that turned out to be true, didn't it?"

"Once in a lifetime coincidence!" Kazari claimed, raising her chin in defiance.

"Then what about the Poltergeist? Or Someone's Watching, and the Streetwise Preacher? They were real too, weren't they?" Ruiko gave her a scrutinizing stare, and Kazari puffed her cheeks out.

"Those are still…" she muttered, "…they weren't… oh, fine," she finally relented, "once in a while they might be right, partially…"

"You see! So then –"

"But there's no way I'm going to believe there's some all-eating cleaning bot rolling around without supervision! That's too much!"

"But Uiharu! They even have proof, see here:" Ruiko pulled up the article in question and started to read, "'plausible theories includes that the bot has developed such an advanced AI it can discern valuable things from waste and collect them.' How's that!" She was fairly excited about this, as was the norm for her when it came to gossip and rumors.

Kazari hmph'ed, chin held high. "That's a theory, not proof. And it's pretty far-out too; all the cleaning bots are monitored through the system core, and any anomalies would be picked up. Picking up anything but trash sounds more like a system error than advanced intelligence anyhow."

"So that means it could still be real!"

"There's no way it's real!"

Ruiko sighed, picking up her glass of soda. "Aa-aah, you're too narrow-minded to be fun."

Kazari looked like she wanted to retort to that, but her phone gave a jingling melody at that moment, and she pulled it out of her pocket. "Oh, it's Shirai-san…" She sounded torn between glad and worried, as if having her friend call her on a rare day off was a bad omen (which was probably unfair to Kuroko).

"She's got the day off as well, right?" Ruiko said. "Why don't we ask her if she and Misaka-san want to go shopping?"

"Hai, hai…" Kazari pushed the answer button and put the phone to her ear. "Yes, Kazari here~"

"Uiharu, I need urgent assistance!" Kuroko's slightly rushed voice greeted her.

"What, did something happen?" Kazari asked, somehow her fears coming true. She, like many others, didn't want to work on her day off; yet she knew her duties as a Judgment member. If something serious was happening, there would be no time for goofing off at a café.

"I need you to find Onee-sama's cell phone!"

Kazari blinked.

"…errr, okay…" She hesitated for a moment, surprised at the strange request.

"Can you do it, Uiharu?" Kuroko asked.

"Ah, well, that is…" Surely she wasn't suggesting Kazari go over to their dorm room and search through Misaka-san's drawers or something? "Um… could you be a bit more specific?"

"I need you to find the individual named Kamijou Touma; I need to talk to him." Kuroko didn't really explain anything, and suddenly changed her request too.

"Aaah, okay, that I can do!" _Phew, she's stressed! _Kazari leaned down and pulled out her small laptop from the handbag beside her chair. While she waited for it to turn on, she asked: "But if it's for finding her phone, wouldn't it be better to try and track it with the CCPPS?"

"No good; it appears to be switched off."

"Ah. In that case, what kind of information do you want me to find on this guy?"

"I need to know his location as of the moment."

"Give me a minute… is it okay to put you on speaker?"

"Are you alone?"

"Sure, only Saten-san is here with me!"

Ruiko, who was sipping her soda, looked up at the mention of her name. Kazari pushed the speaker button and put the phone on the table, then started working on her computer. Though she may not like working on her day off, she looked strangely pleased as she typed away.

"Saying there's only me here is kind of an exaggeration you know…" Ruiko said dryly, eying the bustling street around them. Then she looked at the phone. "So, you're working even on your day off, Shirai-san?"

There was a sigh. "This is not Judgment work. This is a personal matter, yet even more so important."

"I bet it's something about Misaka-san~" Ruiko grinned, twirling her soda around in the glass.

"It's always about Misaka-san." Kazari commented lightly.

"Any matter that concerns Onee-sama is important!" Kuroko barked.

"Is she there with you?" Ruiko asked. "We planned to ask you guys out on a shopping date!"

There were a few seconds of silence, in which she almost wondered if Kuroko had hung up. Then: "Onee-sama is… troubled right now."

"Ah, so she ditched you." Ruiko sighed deeply. "And I found this really cute shop I bet she'd like too…"

"She did not _ditch _me," Kuroko huffed, "she is merely troubled at loss of her phone, and she has a strict time table even on her days off, so there is not much to do about it whenever she has to leave."

"Really?" Ruiko blinked.

"So she really ditched you then, Shirai-san…" Kazari commented.

"How ridiculous; I, Shirai Kuroko, am Onee-sama's most loyal servant and devoted friend!"

"I bet she's letting off some steam at a game arcade or something." Ruiko said thoughtfully. Then she suddenly gasped dramatically, eyes growing huge; "Ah! Or maybe she's on a date with some guy who can cheer her up!"

"No way…" Kuroko gave a slight chuckle that sounded a bit forced.

"Oooh, I think I see them over there! Misakaaa-saaaan, who's that hunk whose arm you're hanging onto~?"

"WHAT! WHERE ARE THEY?"

"Ah, found him!" Kazari suddenly announced, cutting off any further escalation of Kuroko's stressed-out mood.

"Oh, that was fast." Ruiko looked at her, impressed. "You must have gained a level, Uiharu!"

"With a job this easy there's no problem at all." The flowery girl claimed proudly. Of course, she _was _Judgment's most handy computer nerd, so perhaps one shouldn't be surprised.

"What have you got?" Kuroko asked, forgetting their previous conversation already.

"It seems like he's by a GreenMart in 7th District, near 10th Street." Pulling open another program, Kazari typed in a few things, and said: "Ah, it looks like this GreenMart has a special morning sale today."

"Another poor student, eh?" Ruiko said, recognizing the situation. Most of the students in Academy City had limited income, and tracking down and exploiting any and all kinds of sales and bargains was something many of them concerned themselves with.

However, the Tokiwadai student on the phone didn't have a grasp on the situation at all.

"There are things like morning sales?" She sounded thoroughly puzzled, in fact. Neither Kazari nor Ruiko knew what to say to that, feeling like they'd rather want to yell at her.

"Well, no matter, I'll head over there right now. Thanks, Uiharu!" Kuroko concluded, oblivious to their feelings.

"You're welcome…"

The phone went dark as the call ended. Ruiko sat back in her chair, sighing. "Is it just me, or is Shirai-san always stressed?"

"That's because she's taking on the responsibility of keeping Misaka-san free of troubles all on her own shoulders." Kazari said, closing her laptop with a smile.

"You'd think Misaka-san wouldn't have that many troubles to begin with, being a Level 5 and all." Ruiko sipped her soda with a thoughtful expression on her face. "So what was that about anyway?"

"Ah, right…" Kazari looked up. "It seems like Misaka-san's cell phone is missing."

"I thought that's what I heard..." Ruiko looked puzzled. "So, this guy she's chasing… what's he got to do with it?"

XXX

Carrying a bag of groceries, Touma left through the automatic doors of the GreenMart, scratching his head and sighing tiredly. "I finally got to the cashier…" After waiting one hour in line since sunrise, he had finally managed to get his hands on the last bits of today's special morning sale. Living on the measly earnings of a high school student was hassle enough _without_ having a gluttonous live-in who ate everything edible within five minutes of it entering the front door, but he had to make it somehow. Gathering what he could of these sales was his last line of defense against starvation. This was all illustrated perfectly by the fact that his breakfast today had consisted of two measly sausages - the other five in the package gobbled up by the same person who'd throw a fit if he didn't get home with her orders within the next hour.

He walked down the sidewalk, yawning deeply, when something suddenly collided with the side of his head. The sudden shock sent him careening off the main street where he had been walking and into the alley beside it, grocery bag dropping to the ground in the process.

"What the—!" With pain shooting through his head, he spun around in a defensive position – and saw no-one. "Eh?"

"'What the' indeed." An elegant voice suddenly spoke behind him; his eyes widened, and he turned again only to be met with a round-house kick to his abdomen which sent him back first into the wall of the building behind him.

"Guh—!" He bent over, clutching his stomach. A row of metal spikes appeared out of thin air in the wall beside his midriff, trapping his open jacket to the concrete surface on both sides.

"Wha—" He stared at them with a perplexed look, and then looked up at his sudden assaulter. It was a girl. He had seen her before; in fact, he knew who she was, having met her alongside a certain Electromaster several times. Her long, auburn hair was tied up into two pigtails as usual, and she was holding another metal spike in her hand, smirking at him.

"Why, what a coincidence to meet you here." Shirai Kuroko greeted him smugly.

"You really need to start greeting people in other ways than by dropkicking them in the head." Touma muttered, rubbing his stomach and clenching an eye shut at the pain in his head. Battle instincts or not, he'd been surprised as heck by the small girl. "This is the second time in just a few days..."

"That was quite pathetic indeed." Kuroko sighed. "How you can even imagine you're fit to be Onee-sama's herald in my place is a complete mystery." She shook her head, as if amused by the notion. Then she gave him another smug, yet somehow dangerous, look. "Now, I have a few questions for you."

Touma felt like it would be a waste of time to try and correct whatever it was she was imagining with him trying to become a herald and what-not, so instead he said:

"I didn't know assaulting and trapping people to the wall was part of Judgment's routines." Last time she dropkicked him he had been trying to take a photo with Misaka, but this time nothing of the sort could explain her actions. Truly this was not the way she usually greeted people?

"I am not here as a Judgment member today." Kuroko said. "I am here as Onee-sama's one and only partner, and you will do well to remember this."

For some reason, Touma sighed deeply, looking dejected. "So now she makes her roommate chase me around in her stead... She really is an ojou-sama after all, isn't she…?"

"While your imagination is quite entertaining, please move past your illusions and tell me, what did you do with the phone?" Kuroko asked pointedly.

"The phone?" What phone? His neck broke out into sweat. _Don't tell me they registered Index's call last night and that's why she's here? Thinking of it, do services like that have an age restriction? _As he was starting to grow uneasy wondering what the heck this girl had done to find out and why Misaka would care enough to send her roommate after him, Kuroko said:

"Onee-sama's phone."

Instantly the worries and the hundreds of bad excuses running through his head relieved.

"Haah, don't scare me like that… I really thought maybe using that kind of service was illegal…" He rubbed his neck with a silly smile on his face. It paled when a metal spike suddenly speared the wall beside his cheek. Judging by the girl's glare, this was no laughing matter.

"I would love to know exactly what kind of service you're referring to, but out of consideration for your no doubt pure and innocent heart I will not delve further into the matter." Kuroko smiled sweetly. Touma had no idea what to say that would not make this even more awkward, so he chose to stay silent.

Thus, Kuroko continued: "I am inquiring you about the whereabouts of Onee-sama's currently missing cell phone."

Touma was surprised. "Is it gone?"

"Her phone went missing last night, when you were presumably with her. The list of suspects is painfully short, with you at the very top." She leaned forward as if to intimidate him into confessing, though he had no idea how she expected him to answer. "You were with Onee-sama last night, were you not? Did you not touch her indecently and simultaneously snatch it away?"

"—! Are you accusing me of thievery _and _sexual harassment? And in what setting would I be able to do something like that anyway!" If she was imagining a candle-lit restaurant or a steamy hotel room – he squashed the idea before it reached a dangerous part of his brain. He was pretty sure imagining something like that with a highly revered ojou-sama like Misaka Mikoto would only end with him wounding up in Hell.

"Your reaction is most fitting… I believe I have caught the culprit spot on." The aforementioned ojou-sama's devilish roommate had a most pleased smirk on her face.

Touma hurried to his own defenses. "What – no! It's a misunderstanding! I was never even close to her pockets!"

Kuroko's eyes narrowed unpleasantly. "What is that supposed to mean? You were close to her, but not close to her pockets? Where exactly were your hands at that given time then?"

It seemed like the wrong answer here would spell doom and disaster, and Touma, not particularly keen on having his body speared by one of those spikes, started to explain on pure instinct:

"I just grabbed her to get her out of the way, it wasn't really—"

Kuroko suddenly let out a high-pitched whine, like a broken tuba, that effectively cut him off. Touma grimaced. He hadn't really exchanged a lot of words with her before, and didn't know what to expect of this girl; but somehow he figured any topic regarding Misaka Mikoto was treading on dangerous grounds.

"I-I see…" Kuroko, still breathing heavily, looked rather disturbed. "You _grabbed her_, did you…" She said it the same way you would complement someone you don't really like for succeeding where you failed.

"Ah, well… I had to in order to hold her when we fell." Despite his crying survival instincts, he ended up explaining. However, it seemed like his explaining only made things worse.

"Y-y-y-you were – h-ho-ho-holding Onee-sama!" Kuroko sputtered like a fish on land, and her fingers twitched in the air as she seemed to imagine something well beyond Touma's fantasy. "You held her… like that… in public… my Onee-sama… aaaagh!" She gripped her hair with a torn expression on her face.

Touma scratched his neck. "Um… it was in a deserted park, after curfew; you can hardly call it 'in public'."

"In the park; just the two of you!" She pulled at her pigtails in apparent agony. "How daring, yet romantic! Onee-sama's virginity is—no, this is even worse than that! This is—!"

"Um, hello?" Touma asked, feeling like he was trying to communicate with a tourist who only spoke Swahili. Apparently, whatever he said just didn't get through in the correct language. "Shirai-san?"

The longhaired girl suddenly gripped his shoulders and shook him violently, a desperate look on her face, and eyes completely bloodshot. "How dare you! Defile her! Like that! I will not! Forgive you!"

His head was swirling by the time she stopped and gasped down air.

"I'm pretty sure there's a misunderstanding here somewhere…" He started, blinking to steady his sight. "When I saw her right where the car was headed, my body just moved on its own. I guess I just didn't want to see her hit by it…" Though that had turned out to be completely unnecessary, but doing nothing at all didn't feel right either.

Kuroko was still breathing heavily and holding onto his shoulders. "Onee-sama… was… hit by… a car?" Her wide eyes looked up at Touma, and he instinctively pulled his head back against the wall. Kuroko could barely comprehend that she had seen her roommate this very morning, and that she had been perfectly healthy at that point. Though, if it was only a minor injury, or hidden beneath her clothes… Her mind settled. _I need to find Onee-sama and undress her—!_

"Why does it feel like you're only hearing whatever you fear the most?" Touma was a bit wary still; for some reason this girl gave off an even more unstable vibe than Misaka, with her bloodshot eyes and vice-like grip."I was running from this gang in a car when she was suddenly right in the pathway. I guess I kind of panicked, and knocked her off the road." He rubbed his neck, trying to make this as comprehensible as possible. To be honest, he had been so sure she was going to be hit it felt like his heart stopped for a second. There was nothing he could do to protect her from something like that – then again, in the end she ended up taking care of the situation herself.

In any case, how did he end up explaining this to Mikoto's roommate? Shouldn't that be _her _job? Maybe she had met the same difficulties as he was having...

His words knocked Kuroko back to reality. "I heard nothing of this…" She was aghast; to think something like that happened… "How come Onee-sama did not tell me…?" Her roommate had merely brushed her off last night, not once mentioning such a situation at all.

Touma didn't know, though his first thought was that Misaka probably didn't want to worry her roommate unnecessarily. Again he imagined her surprised expression when he came running towards her - and suddenly remembered something.

"Ah, that's right – she was talking on her phone just then; maybe she dropped it when we fell?"

Kuroko looked at him again_, _somewhat sourly. No doubt she was contemplating why her Onee-sama had omitted telling her about the whole incident.

She sighed deeply. Rivalries aside; "In that case, there is no doubt what we have to do now." The most important thing now was to bring Onee-sama back to her old self. She let her hand glide over the spikes trapping Touma to the wall, and they instantly disappeared and reappeared in her leather belts.

"Um…" Touma started, glad to be free again, but rather sure he'd heard the word 'we'.

"We'll have to go back to the scene of the accident and do a thorough search of the area." Kuroko said. "Such an object as a phone could easily be over-looked in the dark, even by Anti-Skill, assuming they ever got there."

Touma rubbed his neck, feeling tired already. "Well, good luck then. I'll just get on home and get started on my homework…" Not to mention feed the hungry glutton that doubled as his roommate for the time being. "See you around." He turned to leave, but Kuroko grabbed his wrist.

"Who said you could leave? I need you to show me the scene of the accident."

Touma looked back at her over his shoulder. "Aah, I would like to, but—" _Clack_ "…eh?" He looked down at his wrist, and did a spittake. A solid metal object was just now encircling his wrist. "Handcuffs—?"

Kuroko smiled pleasantly at him, holding the other end of the handcuffs like it was the leash of a dog. "You are a suspect. As long as your innocence has not been proved, you will be treated as such."

"Isn't it supposed to be the other way around? And why can't you just ask Misaka; she was there too!"

"And how do you suggest I contact her when she's got no cell phone?" Kuroko sighed. "There is no telling where she is right now. Besides..." she trailed off, a slightly disturbed look on her face, "…it may not be safe to approach her right now…"

"That's never safe…" Touma agreed. "Anyway, get this thing off!" He reached forward with his free hand as if to pull the handcuffs off by force.

_Clack._

Instead of freeing him, Kuroko used the opportunity to cuff his other wrist as well.

"You will have to show me the place of the accident. This matter is outside Anti-Skill concerns, so there is not much choice." She said it as if she didn't notice what she was doing at all.

Touma paled as his hands were now completely trapped. "Is this even legal?"

"Why, is there a problem?"

There was a load of problems concerning this, but judging by her smug expression it was useless to protest. He sighed. "I don't have time for this…"

"My, what an irresponsible gentleman this turns out to be."

"How is this my responsibility? I didn't do anything to her; if anyone should take responsibility it's those guys with the car who nearly ran us over!" Not that they'd be able to do anything after the treatment they were given last night.

His protest seemed to go unheard in any case, as Kuroko had just pulled out her cell phone as if to call someone. However, what she did instead was pulling up a notepad program on the holographic screen. Touma could see, though blurred from his side, while she navigated around with a finger and apparently opened a previously written note.

"Assuming you met with Onee-sama right after our phone call ended, your involvement started approximately 9:25 PM last night, after we hung up." She seemed to read off the screen. "This is certain within a 2.5% margin, as if you had been with her earlier, there is a 97.5% chance her demeanor on the phone would be different, and if it were later, you would probably not have seen her with her phone in hand." Apparently, the chance that Mikoto might have been calling someone else afterwards was entirely dismissed. "Now, in normal walking speed there is an approximate distance of around fifteen minutes from the park to our dorm room. Onee-sama arrived at the dorm at 10:03 PM, which means that aside from the opportunity of walking her home, you had at least ten minutes available to spend with her in the park. Calculations based on Onee-sama's popularity and your reputation shows that the chances that you did something to her during that timeframe are rather large."

Touma, while feeling increasingly more trapped, was scared of her level of detail. "How come you have all that noted down?"

"I always keep track of Onee-sama's movements." Kuroko said, smiling contently again. "Incidentally, these are all her encounters with you since this summer." She showed him the previous screen, which contained a list of entries.

Touma's face faltered.

"Onee-sama talks in her sleep quite a lot." Kuroko said as an answer to the unasked question, looking quite pleased. Many a wakeful night had been spent agonizing at her Onee-sama's mumblings, and with nothing better to do it had turned into a habit of information gathering. "It is quite easy to deduce whenever you've been tainting her mind, and the details are found through other means."

Touma wondered if she used her Judgment connections for those 'other means'. Furthermore, was this the work of a hardened stalker or a concerned friend? Whatever the case, he had a feeling it was about as legal as her cuffing up his hands.

"Now, will you accept responsibility, or do we still have disagreements?" Kuroko asked pleasantly.

Touma let out a long, annoyed sigh. "After kicking me in the head and cuffing me up, you make it sound like I'm the difficult one…" It wasn't like he had a choice either way at this rate.

"Naturally, I will personally make sure your entire existence will become a living hell should you refuse to cooperate."

Her brilliant smile gave a feeling of being burned by scorching lava. Touma wondered if all the girls at Tokiwadai were either violent and hot-headed or cold and accusing, and pitied any man who might be working there as a teacher.

Seemed like his homework would have to wait…

XXX

The bus trip they endured after that was the most awkward bus trip Touma had ever experienced in his life (as far as he could remember at least, but he was pretty sure it still ranked amongst the top three). Quite a few looks were thrown at his cuffed hands, and whispers and giggles reached their ears from all directions. Kuroko did not make matters better by commanding him to sit like a faithful dog as soon as they boarded the bus.

When they finally arrived at the scene of the incident, Touma looked like his life had ended. "If only she was wearing her Judgment armband, but no… they all think I'm a weirdo now; a weirdo with a weirdo girlfriend doing all sorts of weird things in broad daylight…"

"Will you stop muttering to yourself?" Kuroko asked, annoyed. "I wouldn't do anything of the sort with you." Her underlying tone suggested she would be perfectly happy to do it with someone else. Touma did not dare ask for details.

"So this is where it happened?" Kuroko looked, hands on her hips, over the completely normal park road. There was no indication that anything had happened here at all last night, save for a few clumps of mud beautifying the grass. Someone, most likely Anti-Skill or the local Judgment branch, had cleaned up after the tire tracks, and the rain had probably helped with washing them away too. The surface was still wet, muddy puddles of water here and there.

Kuroko looked determined. "We will have to look for any sign of the phone or the phone strap. Pay close attention to the puddles; if they landed in any of those, they may have been overlooked by anyone searching the scene in the dark."

Touma sighed, feeling like he wanted to be home and eat a proper breakfast, or even get started on his homework, rather than search puddles for a cell phone which might not even be here. A certain person was going to get really mad at him for taking so long in the store. _Well, nothing to do about it for now… _He looked down at his cuffed hands and sighed again. Then he looked up at Kuroko.

"Look, I'll help you search, so get these things off already."

XXX

They searched the entire area, looking through the grass and over the road, and in the puny river beside the road. This somehow ended up being Touma's job, and the job was bad enough already without the cuffs adding to his misery. Kuroko had said something about men's credibility and waved his proposition to remove them aside. Apparently she did not trust him to stay around if they were taken off, or she just enjoyed cuffing people up. Touma suspected it was the last one, as even if he did try to run away once freed, she was a teleporter, and his Imagine Breaker couldn't cancel her ability from afar. There would be no escape.

After checking everything twice, and then once more just to be sure, there was still no sign of the Gekota phone or the strap attached to it. Touma's hands were freezing off, and Kuroko stood with her hands on her hips, saying: "It seems like it's not here."

"_Now _she realizes…" Touma sighed, trying to rub some life into his hands. His wrists were unable to move enough for the motion to have effect though. "Aaah, what's up with this bad luck…" He stopped trying to do the impossible and hung his arms and head in defeat. "If it isn't Misaka going all biribiri on me or some jerks chasing me around all night, it's a Judgment member forcing me to search the mud with my hands cuffed up…"

Kuroko did a spittake beside him. "Y-y-y-you dare use the words _bad luck_ in context to Onee-sama?" She stared at him with a thunderstruck face.

Apparently he did dare, since he'd just done it.

"Having Onee-sama chase after me like that is but a dream, yet you dare describe it with such degrading words! You even compare her to the riff-raff of some worthless delinquents!" She could barely express her horror at his ignorance. "She is the ace of Tokiwadai, the most magnificent Electric Princess of Academy City, and yet you—!"

"Having her throw lightning at you all night long isn't really that amazing…" Touma offered his sentiment.

"What I would do to have Onee-sama punish me all night long! Onee-sama, why do you put up with this kind of baboon when you have Kuroko!"

Touma watched her for a moment, trying to find anything to say. "Um… so the phone is gone, huh? I guess it can't be helped…"

"Don't change the topic like that!"

"Then what was the topic?"

Kuroko sighed deeply and looked off over the river. "No matter. We cannot conclude that it's gone just yet. We'll take a look along your escape route as well."

There was no use disagreeing. In the first place, Touma was hardly in a position to make any demands, and could only to come along obediently.

XXX

Touma hopelessly kept trying to rub some life into his fingers as they walked along the route where he and Mikoto had been running last night, or at least as close to it as he could remember. His fingers were still numb and lifeless, and he was starting to wonder what the risk of contracting frost bite in these conditions was.

After ascending the stairs leading up to the plateau that the two of them had ran across in their attempt to escape the car (or to save the gang from being taken out in a blast of electric currents), they stopped.

"Hmm." Kuroko held one hand on her chin while thinking. "So you continued over here and down the staircase on the other end?"

"Yeah."

"And your escape ended there when Onee-sama took out the car with her railgun?"

"Yeah…"

"In that case I'll take a look on the remaining route and the scene of the accident. If you're suffering so much, why don't you use the opportunity to warm your hands on a hot drink?" Kuroko looked to a spot beside them, where two picnic tables had been placed in front of a vending machine. "Don't think you'll be able to run off though." She continued, with a pleasant smile.

Touma sighed, thankful that she had at least the humanity to think about his situation if just by a little. "As if I'd run anywhere with my hands trapped like this…"

She looked pleased at that. "So you do have a brain after all. Then please wait here." And she teleported off before he could answer the insult.

XXX

_Clank! _A can of hot strawberry juice fell into the collector of the vending machine. Touma picked it up, immediately relieved at the soothing heat transferring to his fingers. "Aaah, thank God…" Operating a vending machine with your hands cuffed had proved rather easy once the coins were out of his pocket. He figured that the designers of these pants hadn't had people's cuffed up hands in mind when they drew the blueprints.

As he stood there reveling at the luxury of heat and trying to forget his miserable existence for the moment, there was a sudden gasp of surprise somewhere beside him.

"Ah! YOU!"

"Hah?" He turned his head, and saw a tall, lean guy with a ponytail and a rather distinguishable purple bruise near his jaw. Touma couldn't say he recognized him, but he was not a stranger to random people popping out of nowhere involving him in some kind of elaborate misunderstanding, so…

"How may I help you?" He flashed his best smile at the newcomer.

"You're the bastard from last night!" The man accused.

Touma blinked. Last night probably included all the guys from that gang, none of which he could say he remembered distinctively.

The guy in front of him reddened and gritted his teeth, and then winced and put a hand to his cheek. Touma was amazed to see what looked like tears gathering in the corner of his eyes. Whether it was because Touma didn't recognize him or because of his hurting jaw was anyone's guess.

"You punched me right into the mud, damn you!"

"…Oh." Now that he looked closer, Touma thought he recognized the guy. This was the sprinter from the athletic school in District 20, wasn't it? Whom he had socked in the face last night, and not offered a thought since.

Touma suddenly felt a bit guilty. "Um, so… they patch you up good?" He gave an awkward smile.

The guy almost gritted his teeth again, but then seemed to remember it would hurt, and his face changed into that of a sour frown instead. His eyes fell on Touma's hands, and he obviously noticed the handcuffs and the can of juice in strikingly pink. His eyes looked like they said 'what the heck?', and rightly so. The strawberry juice was something known to be enjoyed mostly by elementary school students, and the handcuffs must look strange enough on a guy standing by himself in the park. Thinking of what kind of impression this could make about him, Touma laughed stupidly.

"Ahaha, my fingers were nearly freezing off – I don't really care for the taste much…" As for the handcuffs, he had no idea how to explain.

In any case, he wondered if his explanation seemed convincing, as the guy gave him a look that said nothing if not _'yeah, right'_. Seeming to want to ignore Touma's questionable appearance, the thug then huffed.

"Thanks to your fucking ass most of our gang was arrested last night. I don't give a rat's shit about them; the point is, you're an asshole! And assholes should just lay low and not make a mess!" He made a small wince at the end, putting a hand to his bruised cheek.

Touma almost felt with him. "Haah… so, who are you really?"

The guy seemed pleased that he asked, as he shook off his look of pain and smirked. "Heh. Figures someone like you hasn't heard of me." He suddenly thrust a thumb into his own chest. "I am Hashirizukai Rambo!"

"Rambo?" Touma looked at him with a drop of sweat running down his neck. That anyone would give their kid such a name knowing the associations it would give anyone with an interest for movies from the 80's was one thing, but even if it happened to be but a nickname, it still sounded rather strange.

"You better remember that name, kid." He looked Touma dead in the eye. "Rambo does not tolerate anyone fucking with his friends." Cracking his knuckles, he approached with determined strides.

"W-wait a minute!" Touma backed off, raising his hands and the pink soda can. "You wouldn't hurt a guy who can't fight back, would you? Besides, in a way I kind of helped you into not getting arrested… haha…" He tried to make light of the situation.

"You think you're funny, punk?" The guy called Rambo glared down at him. "I won't stand for some damn esper having a go at us like we're his toys! That annoys the hell out of me!" He grabbed Touma's collar and pulled his left fist back.

"Wha – I'm not an esper!" Touma protested.

The guy sneered. "Don't fuck with me! You fired a friggin' _beam_ at our car! Are you trying to tell me a _Level 0_ could do something like that?"

"Aaah, no, that was…" Touma sweat-dropped, seeing the scene in his mind once more. "I guess you could say your friends ran into something dangerous… anyway, firing a railgun is impossible for someone who can't even bend a spoon…"

"R-Railgun?" The guy with the strange name stammered, looking put off all of the sudden, eyes widening. "Shit, you saying they ran into the Railgun?" Misaka Mikoto the Railgun had quite the reputation around these parts, so it was just natural that he'd look a bit disturbed.

"Ah, they kind of did…" Touma wondered how to best explain. "She was on the road when the car came around the corner and—"

Rambo the thug frowned. "Don't fuck with me! Why would the Railgun be out in the park at that time of night? Why would a beast like that care to get involved in a stupid dispute over women and men's pride?"

Touma, who had long since concluded it was just a matter of boredom from their side, was surprised at him claiming the dispute had any reason at all. Even so, there was a misunderstanding in the making here.

"If you don't believe me, how would you explain the beam?"

Rambo the thug's eyes widened; then he gritted his teeth, looking like he defied the pain from doing so by pure will. "I said, don't fuck with me, asshole!"

Apparently, he had no other explanation. Even claiming that Touma had used some kind of incredible weapon was just a bit too far-fetched. So it seemed that instead of trying to think, the guy resorted to punching.

Touma raised his hands on instinct, and Rambo's fist hit the metal surface of the handcuffs binding his hands. The blow was quite severe, and Touma felt his arms tingle at the force.

"Ghh!" The pain from suddenly punching metal instead of flesh must have been surprising. Rambo's grip loosened, and Touma quickly grabbed the opportunity to pull away from him.

"If I really could fire beams, I'd surely have knocked you down by now, right?" He tried to reason.

"Damn it, you fuckhead!" Rambo charged forward, raising his fist again.

"I understand it might be hard to grasp, but it's really the truth." Touma dodged the next blow. "I tried to stop it from happening, but if you have to choose between being run over by a car or having the car blasted off the road, what would you do?" He continued to talk while dodging one punch after another, steadily stepping backwards.

"Fuck you!" Rambo pulled his fist back again. Touma stepped backwards, and his back hit the wooden surface of a park table. That was not part of his plan. Thinking quickly, he made a half-assed throw with his hands, the juice can flying through the air. Rambo moved to avoid it, interrupting his punch, and Touma advanced._ Wham!_ – both his hands, handcuffs and all, connected with the underside of Rambo's chin and sent the thug's head flying backwards. His balance overthrown, the guy went down like a ragdoll.

Touma breathed out above him. "You shouldn't go attacking people who're cuffed up." Though he should have been the one with the handicap, it seemed like it didn't really matter in this case. Normally, anyone who was cuffed up would have trouble fighting back.

Rambo the thug coughed. "Shit." He looked a bit unsteady as he sat up.

"Here." Touma reached forward to help, if nothing else by offering his hands for support.

"I don't need your help, fuckhead." Rambo spat angrily.

Touma sweat-dropped; the guy had already grabbed onto his hands, but looked like he may as well be planning to pull him over.

Their disagreement was suddenly interrupted by a pop in the air beside them. Kuroko appeared above the picnic table there, like she had materialized out of thin air.

"I could find no trace of it." The twintailed Judgment member landed elegantly on the wooden surface of the table. "It may have been picked up during the night." She looked down at them and noticed the unfamiliar man, his hands clasped around Touma's. "Ara?" She smirked.

Touma's face drained of all color. _Whatever you're thinking, it's wrong! _He felt a surging urge to defend his manhood. As he opened his mouth to explain however:

"So, who is your friend?" Kuroko said, sounding extremely pleased.

Touma's explanation died on his tongue. "Ah, this is Hashirizukai-san, he's…" He hesitated, glancing back at the guy who looked like he'd frozen up, probably because a Judgment member had suddenly appeared. "I guess acquaintance isn't really…"

"Oh? Not really an acquaintance, I see…" Kuroko sounded like she saw a lot of things that Touma did not. He had a strong feeling that he wouldn't be able to sway her mind no matter what he said at this point either. His pride was crying inside, but his common sense assured him that leaving her to think whatever she wanted was probably better. Thinking so, he subtly eased his hands out of the Rambo's grip.

"Are you…" Rambo's voice was breathless, and he was staring at Kuroko as if he couldn't believe what he was seeing. That expression didn't look like someone who'd just been scared shitless by seeing the dreaded forces of justice, and thinking about it, Kuroko still didn't have her Judgment armband on, so there was no way that was the reason in the first place.

"Pigtails… and teleport… it must be…" Rambo was nearly gasping for breath. "You are Shirai Kuroko of Judgment 177th Branch, aren't you?"

"Yes, that is correct." Kuroko said, apparently disinterested.

"Aaah! So fucking hot!" He made what may have been an equivalent to a squeal.

"...Excuse me?" Kuroko blinked, unsure whether she'd heard the right thing. Touma was quite sure he _hadn't_.

"Your hair, your face, your breasts – it's all freaking perfect!" Rambo continued, stars literally glittering in his eyes, though Kuroko seemed slightly self-conscious all of the sudden, glancing downwards for just a moment. "The legend herself, right in front of me!" He put his arms around himself and made an exaggerated shudder. "I'm dreaming!"

Kuroko blinked. "Um…"

Rambo the thug jumped to his feet with uncanny vigor and stretched his arms out towards Kuroko. "Come, let us join in one blissful moment!"

"_What?_" Kuroko looked like she'd just been asked to jump into the sewer.

"I'll show you how sincere my—" Rambo the thug reached out and grabbed her wrist, at which point he suddenly found himself facing the ground from a few meters up in the air. "Guffah!" He hit the ground face first, ending everything resembling a romantic innuendo.

Kuroko huffed, then turned towards Touma. "So, what do you think, mister Kamijou-san?" The way she added the English prefix in addition only made it sound slightly less earnest.

Touma looked at the thug with pity, and then back at Kuroko. "I think he'd have taken the hint if you just refused him…"

"Not that. The phone."

"Right…" He should have known that was what concerned her the most. "Well, the phone is gone, right? She'll just have to get a new one, I guess?" While that was probably sad enough for the owner, it shouldn't be of any more concern to him. He _really_ needed to start that homework today, or he'd never get done.

Kuroko pursed her lips, still standing on the table. "That will not do. We have to find it."

Touma's shoulders fell.

"Hm?" Kuroko noticed his saddened state. "You're still the main suspect here, and you can't prove your innocence unless we find the phone, now can you? It would be terrible indeed if we ended up having you in jail because of this misunderstanding."

"Somehow something feels wrong about that statement…"

"Besides, Onee-sama's in a very dispirited state. While her normal state of spirits can be enough of a handful, if she were to stay in this state for too long, there is no telling what may happen." Kuroko looked worried.

"I don't get what you're talking about, but can you at least remove these handcuffs now?" Touma asked, raising his hands.

"Do you not understand the situation we're currently in?" Kuroko asked, looking down at him as if he was being unnecessarily stubborn. "Being one who has had the joy of being chased around by Onee-sama the whole night, surely you should be able to imagine what would happen if she were to stay in such a state for a considerable length of time."

Touma did not know what kind of state they were speaking of, but he remembered several occasions where that electric girl had seemed more or less pissed off when approaching him. If this was even worse, and she somehow ended up in a fight… _total blackout?_ He imagined all the troubles that would follow, and felt slightly concerned. But even so… "Then, all the more reason for her to buy a new one, right?"

"Like I told you, that will not do." Kuroko shook her head.

"Why not? It's not like she'll have to get a new number or anything." He did not see the point of spending so much energy on finding the old phone when these girls probably had the money to buy ten new ones without blinking. Especially if equipping that Level 5 with a phone was important to avoid the demolition of Academy City.

As if his words had just engaged a bomb, the thug called Rambo suddenly sat up and declared: "You shithead! Can't you see that Shirai-sama is troubled by this? How can you call yourself a man while looking at her saddened face with an icy heart?"

Kuroko and Touma both stared at him without knowing how to comment at that. His bleeding nose looked like a reason to be concerned for his well-being.

Deciding it was better to just ignore him, Kuroko looked over at Touma and said: "This phone has great sentimental value to Onee-sama. Apart from the phone itself, which is a rare and one-of-a-kind-prize-in-a-lottery-for-kids Gekota phone, there is the strap which was attached to it. Together, those items equal a great portion of Onee-sama's soul. Without them, her existence is incomplete. It is my duty as Onee-sama's vanguard to make sure her life once again has meaning."

Touma found it hard to imagine that kind of situation. "…I guess girls do get attached to their belongings…" He sighed again, feeling defeat creeping up on him. "Saying no when faced by such an argument seems impossible…" Although he didn't want to do it and didn't truly believe the consequences would be as grave as the girl in front of him claimed, it seemed like his conscience was getting the better of him. After all, he was kind of part of the reason why the phone was gone. And there was this fact that he couldn't get out of these handcuffs without Kuroko's help.

"I'm sorry, Komoe-sensei… my homework might not get done in time..." Komoe-sensei might as well dedicate the entire first lesson of the day to yelling at Touma; not by her, but by the other guys in his class for having made their teacher cry again.

"So how do we go about finding it?"

XXX

_Clank!_ Another can of soda fell into the collector of the vending machine, and Touma bent down to pick it up. "No way, it's the wrong one!" He looked at the can in his hands with a teary face. "Such misfortune..."

Rambo the thug was leaning on the picnic table close by, sipping the lukewarm strawberry juice with a cool expression on his face.

"If you're a man, stop whining like a little girl."

"You may call me a girl and what-not, but at least I'm not the one drinking that juice."

"Fuck you."

_Not very good at comebacks, is he? _Touma wondered why he was still here. It wasn't like they'd suddenly become friends, so maybe he just wanted to stay around Kuroko.

Kuroko, who stood some ways off, put her phone away and turned towards them. Looking first at Touma, her eyes glanced over at the other man.

"You."

"Yes!" Rambo immediately lost his tough guy attitude and stood up straight.

Kuroko looked at him with the same level of interest you would study a shoelace. "I need you to go to the nearest GreenMart and buy me ten rolls of brown tape." Like a mother rewarding her son for cleaning the house, she held out a note which had beeen picked out of her wallet.

"Tape?" Rambo blinked as he accepted the money, which was probably way too much for buying even the entire store supply of brown tape.

"Indeed." Kuroko said, offering no further explanation.

The thug with the ridiculous name looked like he wanted to question this strange request, but then thought better of it. "It will be my honor, ma'am! And before you know it… _I'll be back._" He winked.

Touma wanted to point out how cheesy that was, and that it was the wrong movie to make a reference from too, but the guy was already off. The Bannousenshu student was a quick runner, so he was soon gone from their sight.

"Isn't the nearest GreenMart four blocks away from here?" Touma asked, looking after him.

"Indeed."

"…and why brown tape?"

"They do not sell brown tape there."

Touma realized this was not supposed to be anything logical at all, and gave up. _A rather expensive tactics of making the guy leave… she could have just teleported him off to make a point._ Then again, the guy called Rambo might not take a hint at all. The fact that he'd stayed around with the guy who'd twice sent him to the ground and the girl who'd harshly refused his advances in the most horrible way, spoke as much.

"I have asked Uiharu to find the surveillance tapes of the area and look for anyone who might have picked up the phone during the night." Kuroko said, explaining why she'd suddenly pulled out her phone earlier instead of answering Touma's question as to how they'd find the phone. "She will call back once she finds something."

"Ah…" Touma remembered she was part of Judgment and probably had quite the information network at her disposal. "So we're looking for a possible suspect after all?" One that wasn't him, more like it.

"Uiharu is especially skilled at gathering information," Kuroko said, "if someone did pick it up, she will find the culprit within minutes."

Touma couldn't help but smile at her eagerness to do so much for her roommate's sake.

"Hey, do you like this taste?" He held out the can of soda for her to see.

"Eh?" She looked at him with a puzzled face, as if having him offering her anything was a strange foreign gesture.

"Well, the machine spit it out and I don't really enjoy this one, so I have to get another one anyway. What do you say?"

Kuroko stared at him, as if trying to judge his sincerity. Then she sighed. "Hmph. Having a baboon offering me something to drink does not make me think differently about your kind." But she took the soda, and Touma smiled.

Then he tried his luck on the vending machine again.

XXX

While waiting for Uiharu to call back, they ended up walking through the park at a leisurely pace. It seemed like they may as well enjoy the break while it was offered to them.

Touma wouldn't normally have thought twice about walking side by side with a girl through the park like this, but this was a special case. Almost everyone they passed hid a snicker, or stared openly; their eyes always at his handcuffs. He could feel their gazes sting his neck for several minutes after they'd passed by. No-one commented however; probably they thought better than to question a Judgment member's work. Of course, Kuroko still hadn't put on her armband, so Touma just _hoped_ they thought the right thing. He wanted to go home already, but if he came home without food and cuffed up to boot, there was no telling what the nun-slash-villain would do to him. Besides, he had already succumbed to his own conscience and agreed to help.

Touma sighed heavily. "I wonder if this will affect my karma in a positive way…"

Kuroko looked like she wanted to comment, but instead she put the can of soda to her lips and started chugging it at an uncanny speed.

Touma looked at her from the side, noticing just how small she was. "Ah – come to think of it, you were stuck in that wheelchair until recently, weren't you? You seem to have healed pretty well from that time."

Kuroko breathed out after successfully emptying the soda. Then she teleported the empty can into a nearby trash bin. "I heal perfectly fine as long as Onee-sama is with me."

"Aah, that's good then." He smiled. "I wouldn't want to see her worrying about you too much."

Kuroko stiffened when the words left his mouth. Touma gave her a quizzical look, wondering if she had just suffered a complete brain freeze.

"Onee-sama… worrying about me?" She suddenly said, almost in disbelief.

"Well, you're her roommate, right? Of course she worries about you. I think she's the kind of girl who worries about everyone, and tries to fix things for herself before asking anyone for help." Touma looked ahead. "Back then, too, it was just luck that I found her before it was too late. If someone hadn't interfered..." His words died off, and he looked thoughtful.

'_Back then'…_ _is he talking about the time I fought against Musujime Awaki?_ Kuroko remembered that day clearly; the other teleporter's despair at being an esper, her decision to bring down the entire building upon Kuroko; Onee-sama's incredible beam of light shattering the floor, and this guy, running up the ridiculous staircase of magnetized objects to catch her in mid-fall and stopping Musujime's ability with a mere touch of his hand… it was not a pleasant memory, but she would not trade it out for anything. She had been able to see deeper into Onee-sama's world thanks to that incident. A world that… this guy seemed to be part of. She pursed her lips tightly together. He was even calling her 'Misaka', as if they were close enough to drop honorifics. Could she be losing out? Was Kuroko lagging behind? Did Onee-sama consciously keep her out of that world, driven by her own sense of responsibility?

A couple of kids ran past them excitedly, one yelling to the other: "Yeah, I saw it too! There is a huge crack in the road!"

"You're kidding? That's gotta be a high level esper battle!" And they ran off, heading in the direction of where the car had suffered its utter defeat last night. Touma again felt slightly guilty for not doing a better job at avoiding that outcome. He took another sip of the soda can to forget.

Suddenly, Kuroko looked over at the spiky-haired boy with a glare. "What is your relation to Onee-sama?"

"Hah?" He halted his actions and looked at her. "Ah, our relation?" He wondered where such a question came from, but her gaze was so serious it seemed this was important. He lowered the can, thinking. "I guess we're..." Friends? Acquaintances? He remembered their so-called date back in July, and more recently the punishment game where they acquired those Gekota phone straps."…friends, I guess." As far as he was concerned, only friends would willingly put themselves in danger to help someone else reach their goal, as that girl had done during Vento's invasion of Academy City just a few days ago.

Kuroko looked like she did not truly believe him, and observed him closely for a few more seconds.

But then; "I see, that's very good! Very good indeed!" She grabbed his hands in hers and smiled brilliantly. "In that case, I, Shirai Kuroko, would like to acknowledge you as a friend as well."

"Aaah, well, Kamijou Touma is always happy to make new friends." Touma smiled hesitantly. "Even if they drop-kick me in the head and cuff me up…"

"The pleasure is all mine." Kuroko smiled.

"I… guess so… speaking of, these handcuffs—" He was interrupted by the ringing of Kuroko's cell phone. She pulled it out and answered sharply. "Yes?"

"I've gotten the surveillance tapes from the area last night." Kazari told her. She was still sitting at the café, and Ruiko stood behind her and watched the small computer screen with interest.

"Good work, Uiharu." Kuroko put the phone on speaker so that Touma could listen in as well. They stood right by a bench, so Touma took the opportunity to sit down and rest his tired legs.

"So what have you got?"

"The only people who passed by that area during the night was Misaka-san and a boy, a car with a gang of people, and Anti-Skill." Kazari was playing the video in fast forward on her computer, seeing the action unfold. "Anti-Skill came to fix the road a while after the others were there, and doesn't seem to have picked anything up."

"Anti-Skill wouldn't have missed the phone during that kind of work. It was probably gone by the time they came there." Kuroko reasoned.

"Well," Kazari said, "Misaka-san and the boy both dropped into the river by the road-side when the car slid past. They ran off though, and the gang gave chase without picking anything up."

"In that case, the phone might have been washed off by the river." Kuroko said. She looked at Touma as if to ask for his opinion.

He shook his head. "I don't remember…" He'd searched through the river, but he had no idea if the phone was dropped there at all.

"That's what we thought too!" Ruiko suddenly spoke up, sounding very enthusiastic. "But a few minutes after the car left, a group of five cleaning bots showed up, and one of them clearly rolled over to pick something up right around the area where Misaka-san and the guy crashed into each other!"

"A cleaning bot…?" Kuroko stroked her chin.

"There's no doubt about it!" Ruiko was so fired up people sitting at the tables around them were starting to look over.

"Saten-san…" Kazari was reddening at the attention they were getting.

"It's the All-Eating Bot!" Ruiko declared.

…

"Eh?" Kuroko blinked, and Touma shared her sentiment on that.

"You know how cleaning bots normally only pick up items they can identify as litter? This one has developed human-like intelligence and collects anything valuable!" Ruiko explained with much vigor.

Kazari gave a deep sigh. "It's another urban legend…"

Kuroko hmmed. "Well, whether it's an urban legend or not, there seems there's no doubt the phone was picked up by that bot."

"I guess you're right…" Kazari looked back into her laptop. "It may have been run over by the car and qualified as litter in the bot's eyes. The bot must have already emptied itself by now though."

Touma wondered if that meant the phone was completely destroyed; in which case, there was hardly any reason to look for it anymore.

However, Kuroko's face grew determined. "No need to hesitate then. We'll go to the main waste deposit and ask them to do a search through the deposits from this area."

Touma wasn't sure what was more surprising; that she came up with such an idea, or that she looked like she was actually serious about it.

"Well… I suppose that's a possibility…" Kazari sounded hesitant.

"Thanks for your assistance, Uiharu."

Kuroko hung up without waiting for a reply, and turned to look at Touma. Without a word she grabbed the handcuffs and pulled him to his feet with surprising strength.

"Owaa?" The can he had been holding dropped to the ground and spilled its remaining contents.

"We're leaving," The Judgment member said, eyes narrowed at the can as if it was a suspect, "after you clean up after yourself."

* * *

><p><strong>Note:<strong>

Hello there! This took a while in the making, mostly because I recently received my copy of the Spice and Wolf novels, and has been absorbed in those the past few days (no spoilers please!). But it's also because I had to figure out how to improve on a chapter that was originally written one year ago. Why is it that tiny changes in a sentence or a paragraph affect the flow of the story so much? I'm constantly practicing, so I hope I'm getting better, if even slowly.

I feel like I really took Touma and shook him upside down and then reassembled bits and pieces of him into something akin to something entirely else, especially in the second half of the chapter. Is that a good or bad thing, I wonder? I haven't read all the novels (hardly any, in fact), so there may be some missing points in my understanding of his character. I just did whatever I wanted with him. I hope it's still enjoyable for his fans though!

That said, this is possibly the most character-heavy chapter in the story. Well, so far it is…

I feel like it may have become a bit dragged out towards the end, but I really have no idea, so I'm just gonna leave it as it is and start eying the heap of junk that is currently chapter 3. *tosses a glance over to the corner of the room* Well, it's nearly half-done, I'd say. Reading your review on this chapter will help in knowing what to do with it, so please leave your thoughts!

Words and terms:

_Hashirizukai_ (走り使い) = errand runner

_Rambo_ is short for _Ramboumono_ (乱暴者) = thug; hooligan.

**Next time: **Does the All-Eating Bot really exist? Will Kuroko and Touma have to dig through tons of trash in search of that all-important Gekota strap? And will Touma ever get out of those handcuffs?


	3. Chapter 3: The AllEating Bot

**The All-Eating Bot**

"So this is where the trash ends up?" Touma looked up at the building in front of them. It was placed so blatantly right on the street it seemed like someone wanted to pull a prank on them. Where the cleaning bots emptied and what happened to whatever they picked up had never crossed his mind before, but somehow this was not what he expected. Like a plain regular office building, it was tucked in-between a super-market and an electronics shop.

"Indeed, this is 7th District's central waste deposit." Kuroko stood beside him, looking every inch the busy Judgment member, though still without her armband on.

Touma figured that the actual waste keeping must be underground, and there were probably some advanced airing systems doing the job of filtering away any leaking odor. Whatever smell remained might as well be coming from one of the more dubious-looking fast-food stands on the square behind them.

"You really think we'll be able to find the phone here?"

"If the phone was indeed picked up by a cleaning bot last night, it was most certainly deposited in a local waste duct and then brought here. At the very least it's worth a try."

At that moment, a voice called out through the crowd.

"Kami-yan!"

Kuroko turned her head; her expression immediately turned into a slight frown. Coming towards them through the crowd, one of them waving with his entire arm, was two boys. They looked close to the spiky-haired baboon in age; one was blonde and wore sunglasses even though it was far from sunny, his spiked blonde hair and sloppy posture giving the impression of a delinquent. The other's blue, wavy hair stood out amongst the crowd like a Finnish folk dance at a disco party, and he donned a weird grin on his face as he waved at the two of them.

"More of your _acquaintances_?" Kuroko asked, glancing back at Touma.

"They're my classmates." Touma looked slightly troubled.

"Yo, Kami-yan!" The remaining two members of the rumored "Delta Force" trio of A Certain High School in Academy City lazily made their way over to the pair. "What are you doing here? I thought you were gonna stay home all day with your homework?" The blue-haired Aogami Pierce might have been glaring at him, but it was hard to tell since his eyes were always squinting like that.

"Aaah… I guess you could say something came up…"

"Does that _something_ include an explanation for those accessories of yours?" Tsuchimikado Motoharu grinned roguishly. "I'd never imagined you were into this sort of thing, Kami-yan." There was no telling where he was looking beneath those sunglasses, but it didn't take much guessing that the handcuffs were the target of his attention.

"Haha, well, these are her doing." Touma glanced over at Kuroko, and it occurred to him that he should probably introduce them. "Ah, Shirai-san, this is Aogami Pierce and—"

"Kami-yan! What's this?" Aogami Pierce interrupted excitedly. "You went and got yourself a loli!"

"Loli?" Kuroko sounded like she was not sure whether to feel insulted or amused.

Aogami was beaming like an arts critic who had found an object of his taste.

"Ah well, it's not like that..."

Aogami wasn't listening, sizing Kuroko up with his eyes. "Though nobody can beat Komoe-sensei, you're just the right height, you're cute, and look like you'll bite back if I try to touch you – aaah, I'd love to see you in a maid uniform!" He was long lost already, clasping his hands together.

"A maid uniform, you say?" For some reason, Kuroko appeared interested in his mumblings. Touma felt his heart sink.

"Yes! Maids are the ultimate moe form; any girl in a maid outfit is instantly made 150% cuter!"

"Not that it matters, but I thought that was waitresses." Touma commented.

"Of course it is! It's also true for nurses, nuns, flight attendants, hair dressers, chefs and firefighters!"

"Do hair dressers wear uniforms?"

"Haha, so what's cute about firefighters, exactly?"

Ignoring Touma, Aogami answered Tsuchimikado with an excited face. "Haven't you seen the way they hug each other after saving a kitten's life? How they fight heroically to climb those ladders to such heights – ah, my heart is bursting!"

"So it's true that a uniform will make a different impression, huh…" Kuroko muttered to herself, looking thoughtful.

Aogami turned towards her with a beam and grabbed her hands in his. "They do! You with such a fine loli figure should definitely try it out. You'll capture the heart of any healthy man or woman alive!"

While her expression barely changed, Kuroko's eyes seemed like they twinkled with greed all of a sudden. She was no doubt imagining herself surprising her Onee-sama by showing up in their room wearing nothing but an apron, and how her roommate would pass out from the ensuing nosebleed.

"That is perfect!" She claimed, looking excited.

"Isn't it?" Aogami beamed. "Ah, you're so cute, I wanna bring you home right now~"

"Aogami-san, is it? I'd like to ask you a few questions…"

Kuroko and Aogami ventured forth into the land of the strange and the otaku, and Touma reluctantly kept his distance; which meant he was an easy target for the other newcomer.

"So what's the story this time, Kami-yan?" Tsuchimikado grinned as he flung an arm over Touma's shoulders and pulled him close.

"Aaah, well, it's a long story, but I'm kind of helping her out…"

"When did Kami-yan ever help out a girl without being caught in her snare, huh? You cry 'misfortune', but there's no man in this world more fortunate than you, Kami-yan!"

Touma sighed. "If being cuffed up and forced to search the mud for a missing phone is fortunate, I don't have high hopes for the future…"

There was no sympathy to be gained. "A missing cell phone, eh? It must be serious for a girl to lose something like that."

"She could just buy a new one though." It wasn't that he didn't feel like helping Misaka by finding her lost phone; his initial protest had come from the way he'd been assaulted, and he felt it was still his right to complain about that. Even so, he wondered what good finding a broken phone would do, in the end. Surely it'd be of greater help to her if they found a new cell phone for her instead.

"Before you know it, you might end up with matching phone straps and what-not." Tsuchimikado gave a melodramatic speech. "Well, it was nice knowing you, Kami-yan." He patted his shoulder.

"Eh? Phone straps…" Something clicked into place in Touma's mind. Though it was hard for him to casually put his hand into his pocket at the moment, the item in there felt like it was burning through his clothes and onto his skin. Lying there was the Gekota phone strap that Mikoto had handed to him. Her red-faced, stammered declaration that it was his own choice whether or not to use it after all that trouble, and the badly hidden look of appreciation she'd given him when he accepted the strap from her hand (only to scratch his head and wonder what to do with it) came to mind. Since then it had been lying in his pocket, and every time he put his hand in there, he remembered it and wondered again what to do with it. Somehow it had even transferred from his school uniform into his jeans pocket.

"The strap…" He now realized what Kuroko had been talking about all along. It was not only the phone that was missing; the strap attached to it was too. There was no doubt the strap meant a lot to Mikoto, or she wouldn't have gone through all the trouble to acquire it.

"You look like you've just realized some great mystery," Tsuchimikado said, peering at him from behind his sunglasses. "What about phone straps would bring out that kind of expression?"

"Ah, well – phone straps, huh. Haha." Touma laughed stupidly. "I guess that explains it…" He sighed. "Though that makes this even more hopeless, doesn't it…" There was no easy way to replace the strap short of offering her his own, and she was more likely to rip his head off were he to try and suggest that. Though Touma was by no means a master in the understanding of girls, he did see the potential danger of making light of their gifts. This was troubling however. After everything that girl had gone through, he was of the opinion that she deserved all the happiness she could get. Even if it was only a phone strap, if such a simple thing was enough to lift her spirits…

"We really need to find it after all." He clenched his hands determinedly, and was thus instantly reminded of his cuffed situation. _I can't do anything like this…_ He looked over at Kuroko, who seemed deeply engrossed in her conversation with the pervert Aogami. She was noting something down onto her phone; maybe the location of a costume shop or something. Actually, they may be exchanging numbers… he felt slightly worried for a moment.

Tsuchimikado sighed. "There you go muttering to yourself again. Well, whatever. I don't have the conscience to interrupt your lovely little date." He strolled over and lightly punched Aogami's shoulder. "Hey, at this rate they'll start without us."

"Eh? Oh, you're right!" Aogami gasped, and looked at Kuroko and grinned. "Well, at least you have a good starting point; don't hesitate to contact me if you wonder about anything else. I might be asking you for a few favors as well~"

"Certainly." Kuroko looked pleased, stuffing her phone back into her pocket.

Touma wondered what creepy secrets were stored in there now, and then looked at his classmates. "Where are you going?"

Tsuchimikado grinned crookedly. "The Ryouran Maid School has a showoff with their rival today. Of course I'm going to cheer on my sister!"

"It will be a clash of beautiful maids wielding cooking utensils and competing for the favorable judgment from the audience! What can be more exciting than this on such a fine day?" Aogami added.

"Huuh… Well, give Maika my best wishes then." Touma smiled.

"Hoo~ I wonder what kind of wishes those are…" Aogami grinned.

"Fortunately Maika's not so cheap as to be swayed by simple wishes from this guy." Tsuchimikado sighed lightly. "Well then," he turned away from Touma with a cheeky grin on his face. "Good luck, Kami-yan."

Touma sighed as they left, and turned towards Kuroko.

"Sorry about that…"

"Oh, most definitely not." Kuroko said, putting her phone away. "This was perhaps my most meaningful conversation with a male to this date. I did not imagine there to be someone worth my time in your circle of friends. Certainly," she smiled, "I may be inclined to view you in a more positive light from now on."

"Aah, well, that's good I guess…" Touma was a bit taken aback that she considered talking with Aogami about maid outfits and other otaku-related topics more giving than anything else she'd ever talked to a guy about. Hopefully she just hadn't talked to that many. He looked up at the building in front of them. "So we just have to check with the waste deposit whether the phone was dropped off there last night, right?"

"My, what made this serious face appear? Have you finally realized the severity of this situation?"

"That doesn't matter. We just need to find the phone and the phone strap, right?"

"Indeed, that is all."

XXX

They pushed the doorbell beside the entrance to the waste deposit office, and were greeted by a man that looked to be in his late twenties, wearing clothes that looked like they'd been pulled right out of the waste deposit itself; his primary attribute being a sombrero decorated with what looked like banana peels. Touma hoped it was some kind of inside joke amongst trash workers.

"Aaah, more of that losing your valuables problem? I keep telling you folks you need to look after your belongings, but what difference does it make?" The trash inspector shook his head as he heard their inquiry.

Kuroko frowned. "Others have been asking for help?"

"Oh, it's been quite busy this past week. You would think young folks in a city like this have better things to do than visit the waste deposits, but maybe my charm has just reached the height of its appeal?" He grinned widely.

Touma's eyebrow twitched despite his smile.

"I won't promise you anything, but by all means, let's give it a try. If anything, seeing your faces when you realize that the dirty messages exchanged with each other or those treasured pictures taken on the beach this summer are truly gone, just barely makes up for the trouble."

The inspector invited them into his office after those discouraging words, and they followed him into a room that smelled of cigarettes and air purifiers. There was a desk with a computer and two screens set up, and beside it, a bowl of lollipops.

"By the way, not that it's any of my concern to be prying, but are you a criminal or are there other reasons for that accessory?" The inspector asked, looking at Touma's handcuffs. "I wouldn't be sure of my job if I let a convicted criminal in here..."

"Eh?" Touma looked down as well. "Aaah, well, that's… complicated…"

The inspector grinned slyly. "I see, I see. Into that kind of thing, eh? You should try out some of the stores over in District 6, they're really—"

"Are you able to find out what was emptied by the bots over at the park in area B last night?" Kuroko asked, efficiently cutting into the unwanted conversation. While Touma breathed out in relief, Kuroko looked at the waste deposit inspector and smiled smugly. "And those stores are not of much worth compared to the wonders of the Internet."

"Ohoho!" The man laughed. "I'm impressed, little miss!"

Touma hung his head, muttering: "I don't know what's worse; his assumptions or her answers…"

XXX

"So none of the bots emptied anything out of the ordinary last night?" Kuroko was frowning at the computer screen over the inspector's shoulders. His massive hat was placed on the table beside them, looking every bit as excessive there as on his head. Incidentally, his hair was striped with bright green and purple colors.

"Well, as you can see, there was nothing to note about any of the deposits in District 7." The inspector said. He was sucking on a fruity lollipop at the moment, taken from the bowl on his desk. He looked like a bored kid at school rather than a grown-up with a desk job. "The bots emptied themselves at the local deposit at 1 am as usual, including the four who patrolled the park in area B. No electronics registered."

"Four…?" Kuroko had a hand on her chin, looking thoughtful.

"Hm?"

"…there were only four?"

"Well, yeah. We don't usually have bigger groups unless there's a special case."

Kuroko frowned. "I see. Did all the bots last night empty at their scheduled spots?"

The inspector paged through his system, twirling his lollipop around with his fingers. He used shortcuts on his keyboard to navigate the complex program; despite his looks, he seemed competent at what he was doing. "Yup. Nothing out of the ordinary, all districts clear."

Kuroko continued to look thoughtful, which was understandable as this didn't give them anything more to work with.

"So the bots don't usually pick up valuables or electronics, then?" Touma asked.

The inspector looked at him over the top of his chair. "That's right. The bots are programmed with thousands of recognition patterns which they follow when searching for waste. If an object fits any of the patterns, it is picked up, and if it doesn't, it stays on the ground. Things like Mp3 players, cell phones, PDA's, and certain other types of possessions like jewelries, credit cards, hard cash and wallets, are not programmed into the bot's memory. It'd cause an upstir if they made a habit out of picking up something that was just dropped."

"I see..."

"The bots are also programmed to recognize a range of different rule-breakings, which is how they can double as security bots when need be. Pretty amazing, these things, eh?" The inspector grinned.

"Could a bot have picked up a cell phone because it was run over by the car and looked like trash?"

The inspector scratched his scalp with the stick of the lollipop. "I won't claim it's impossible for a phone to be so damaged after being run over by a car that it could be mistaken as waste or anything. But like I told you, none of the bots last night emptied any kinds of electronics. In fact, I can't remember seeing any of them doing so ever since I started working here five years ago, so I'd say the chances of it happening are about 0.26%." Though accepting his memory as flawless just like that was a bit too good-willing, there was no use denying his claim or numeric values. "You guys just need to learn to watch out for your things and not blame it on everything else when it goes missing." The inspector looked up at Kuroko. "I'm sorry miss, but I don't think there's any reason to search any deeper."

"I see. Thank you very much."

XXX

The two of them left the waste deposit a few minutes later.

Kuroko stopped and bowed to the inspector as they exited the building. "Thank you very much for your help."

"Oh, don't mention it," the guy waved it off, "being graced by the presence of a fine young lady is more than enough compensation for the trouble. For some reason, being a trash inspector doesn't draw many girls." He let out a laugh that somehow stung Touma's pride as a male.

Bidding him farewell, Touma and Kuroko walked down the street in silence for a minute.

"So, what now?" Touma asked, breeching the subject.

"There should have been five." Kuroko's answer confused him for a moment. But her follow-up cleared it up for him: "Saten-san said there were five bots on the security cameras." Her brow was furrowed in thought. "Yet the inspector said only four bots patrolled that area last night."

"That's strange." Touma said. "There's no way an extra bot would just pop out of nowhere, right?"

Kuroko sighed. "There's no doubt we're onto something, at the very least. I'll have to check this out." She stopped and turned towards him.

"Eh?" He blinked.

"Thank you for your assistance. I will take it from here." Kuroko reached forward and touched the handcuffs, which immediately disappeared.

Surprised, he rubbed his wrists. "So you're going to search for that bot, then? What do you think is going on?"

Kuroko shrunk the handcuffs to their portable size and stuffed them in her pocket. "We cannot be certain there is anything going on at all. But there is no reason to stop now."

"If there's anything I can do…"

"I cannot involve a civilian further in this." Kuroko pulled out her wallet. "Let me give you a compensation for your groceries as thanks." She handed him a note which he accepted automatically. When he saw the worth, his jaw dropped.

"_Ten thousand _yen?" His measly shopping hadn't even been half of that.

She turned away from him. "Please take care of Onee-sama."

And then she was gone, teleported away.

Touma rubbed his neck. "Take care, huh… I don't even know where she is though…" He'd been completely dismissed just like that. Was now the time to go buy new groceries and get on home to the beast waiting in his room?

He sighed, and looked down at the note in his hand. She had handed a similar one to that thug earlier, hadn't she? "I wonder if this is just spare change to her…?"

XXX

Somewhere in District 7, a loud thunderclap sounded.

The noise came from a back alley, which meant few people were around to see the cause for the sound, and even fewer felt like walking in there to have a look.

Thus, the only people who saw the culprit were the three boys currently collapsed on the ground with black spots on their clothes. They looked like middle schoolers.

Misaka Mikoto, who also happened to be a middle schooler, stood above them. She was huffing in a dejected tone. "After spending this much time roaming the back alleys the only thugs I manage to find are some lousy spray taggers?" She sighed. It seemed she was not happy with her prey. Rather, this was more like slapping a kid around for being naughty than something reminiscent of a fight. Feeling no sense of responsibility at all, the Electromaster left the boys lying there on the ground and walked in the direction of the main street.

_I guess I can't expect to find a proper fight just like that... _She sighed, and looked up, a troubled expression on her face. _Should I go back and search once more? But if I still can't find it… _She hesitated, but then shook her head. _It's not like it's the end of the world or anything! Right? I'll just go look at the new phones they've got. _Nodding to convince herself, she passed by a dumpster and a few trash cans on her way to the main street. Her thoughts abruptly halted at this point, and she stopped in her tracks. It felt like she had just seen something incredible. To be certain, she turned her head to look once more.

Someone was rummaging through one of the trash cans by the wall.

Now this may be a not-so-rare sight in any other city, but in Academy City there were no homeless people with no money for food, and thus no need for anyone to rummage in the trash. Thus is the normal standard. However in addition to the sight being unusual in itself, the person doing the deed was someone Mikoto knew vaguely. This made the scene even more absurd. Maybe that's why it took a few seconds from her brain registered what was going on till she managed to follow through with any actions.

"H-hey!" She called out to the person who was digging with her bare hands through the trash.

The girl looked up with a frown. It was a girl in a white nun outfit. Not only that, but the outfit was held together by safety pins. If anyone could pass off as a homeless person, this must be the one.

Mikoto didn't know her personally, but she had met her before. The last time she saw this girl was only a few days ago, when she had overheard her and Touma talk about a friend of theirs who apparently was in a pinch.

This girl who seemed to do nothing but hang around that moron, was not someone Mikoto would call a close friend. Yet, she was still feeling like she had to intervene in the actions she was currently seeing.

"Oh, it's short-hair." The girl in the nun habit huffed like she had seen something troublesome. "Was it you who caused that loud sound just now? You nearly scared Sphinx off, I'll have you know."

Mikoto noticed she was cradling a small kitten to her chest. The kitten meowed softly, and instantly speared Mikoto's heart. _It's so cute! _Battling her own emotions, she stubbornly looked away and put her hands on her waist.

"What do you care if it was me? I can do whatever I want, so don't expect me to apologize."

"Hmm… Such a suspicious person, I bet you're up to something no-good." The other girl made a displeased grimace.

"If that's how it's going to be, I won't bother asking you what you're doing." Mikoto huffed.

"If you're going to stand there anyway, can you hold Sphinx for a minute?" The other girl didn't wait for her answer before shoving the kitten into her arms. Mikoto gaped in surprise, and the kitten mewed and wriggled in her hands, reacting to the electromagnetic waves emitting from her.

"Wha – what are you doing?" Mikoto barked at the other girl, trying to hold the kitten as far away from her body as possible, though her hands were just as much of a problem.

"I thought you weren't going to ask that." The girl in the nun habit calmly answered while diving her whole upper body into a trash can.

"Just answer the question! Why the heck are you trying to enter a trash can in the middle of the street! Oi!" Mikoto grabbed her collar with her free hand and pulled the girl out of the trash can. As a result, the whole trash can fell over and spilled its content over the ground.

The girl, now sitting on the ground, pouted. "Aww, now it's spoiled."

"It's already spoiled when it's in a trash can! What the hell are you doing looking through other people's garbage like that?"

The girl folded her arms without moving to get up. "Hmph! That stupid Touma, he never does what he says he will."

"Hah?"

"He said he was going out to buy food this morning, but he never came back!" The other girl let out a tirade as if she was complaining to her mother. "After eating all the food in his room I was still hungry, and he didn't leave me any money for lunch!"

Mikoto cringed at the idea of this girl being in that idiot's apartment in the morning. Shaking her head, she said: "Even so, going from that to looking through trash cans is quite the leap. How did you come up with that idea?"

The girl raised her chin proudly. "They said it's normal on TV."

"What kind of TV show was that…?" Mikoto muttered. "In the first place, doing something solely because you saw it on TV is just…"

The cat she was holding suddenly meowed loudly and wriggled in her grasp.

"Ah—!" She tried to hold him, but one of his small paws caught onto her skin and scratched her. "Ow!" Startled by the pain, she lost the grip and the kitten fell to the ground, landing on his feet with the grace of a feline.

"Sphinx!" The girl chastised, reaching out to pick him up. "You don't go scratching strangers, even if they're as strange as this short-hair!"

"Hey!" Mikoto protested.

"It's fine, Sphinx. We'll go someplace else for our food." The girl got up to her feet and dusted off her robes, once more holding the kitten to her chest.

Mikoto sighed and let her hand drop. Three red scratches adorned it, but it had already stopped bleeding. "Even though it's none of my business, I feel like my conscience will be stained if I let you wander off to rummage in another trash can." Looking up at the other girl and wondering why she was doing this, she said: "I'll treat you to something, so please don't do that again."

"Really?" The other girl suddenly seemed to shine. "Short-hair will treat me? Aaaaah, maybe you're a good person after all!"

"O-of course." Mikoto reddened, but her proud stance never faltered. "If I found you later suffering from food poisoning, I wouldn't be able to feel like I had nothing to do with it."

The other girl's face suddenly darkened. "Oh, I see."

"Hah?" Mikoto blinked at the abrupt serious tone.

"You want to use this is as an excuse to poison me, hm. I knew I shouldn't trust someone who Sphinx reacts badly to…"

"How did you reach that conclusion? And that was just because you forced me to hold him! You know cats hate me!" Mikoto pointed at the cat accusingly. The girl observed her with a cool expression on her face, and the cat sneered and jabbed its paw at Mikoto's pointed finger, though it was in no danger of hitting her from its place pressed into the girl's chest.

"Hmmm…" The nun-dressed girl appeared to think deeply about this, one finger on her chin. "There is food to be had, though short-hair might poison me with it…" Mikoto's eyebrow twitched. The girl suddenly beamed. "It's worth it!"

"Geh –" Mikoto's face fell. Sighing deeply, she put a hand to her forehead. "Idiots really do attract other idiots…"

"Come on, short-hair! I won't let you take it back now that we've decided!" The nun-girl declared happily.

XXX

"Hey, how are you doing in there, Uiharu?" Ruiko knocked on the changing room door.

"Uuh well… are you sure this is the only size they have…?"

"Huh? Well, I can't find any with more X's on them than that one at least…"

"No, the X's are… don't they have something with fewer X's?"

"Oh, so that's the problem." Ruiko sighed. "It's too hard with all the new sizes, trying to figure out what the size you used last month translates to in the sizes for this month, and the difference between American and Japanese sizes – it's a hassle."

"Even you should be able to tell that size XXXL is too much!"

"Yeah, yeah, sorry, I'll see what they've got." Ruiko turned away from the door to go check the clothes rack again, only to come face to face with a serious expression. "Uwah!" She backed off and hit the door to the enclosure Uiharu was in, knocking it open and revealing Kazari, wearing what looked like a huge curtain.

"Kyah!" Kazari turned around in surprise. Then her eyes widened. "Ah, Shirai-san?"

"Waah, you really scared me there…" Ruiko said, sitting up on the floor. She looked up at the Tokiwadai student who'd suddenly appeared out of nowhere. "You really should have some sort of warning system before appearing like that."

"Did you decide to take a break and enjoy your day off after all?" Kazari asked.

Kuroko brushed a pigtail over her shoulder. "I cannot relax while knowing Onee-sama is out there in such distress." She put her eyes on Kazari. "Uiharu, I need to ask you a favor."

"Ah, y-yes?"

Kuroko moved forward and pressed herself into the enclosure.

"Uh, what are you doing-?"

"Please get your laptop." Kuroko somehow managed to close the door behind her, trapping all three of them inside.

XXX

In the tight-fitted changing room three girls were looking at the screen of a 10-inch laptop. With Kazari wearing a tent-sized dress, and her normal clothes and her handbag lying around as well, there was barely enough room to turn around, much less find a comfortable position.

"Agh, Uiharu, your elbow's pressing into my ear." Ruiko grimaced.

"Sorry, but I can't do much about it."

"Uiharu, are you able to scan it?" Kuroko asked.

"Well, I've got a screenshot from the security video like you suggested, now I just need to run it through this program…" Kazari tapped the keyboard on her computer, windows popping up on the screen. She had taken a still picture out of the security taping they'd been watching earlier. In the picture, one of the bots had rolled out of formation seemingly to pick something up at the scene of the accident of last night. Kazari had taken the still image of that single bot out and enlarged it. Now, she was using a program to try and scan the code bar visible at the back of the bot's head.

"It takes longer than normal with an image that's not at maximum resolution… ah, here we go." Though she said it took longer than normal, they only had to wait for 20 seconds or so.

Kuroko leaned even closer over Kazari's shoulder. "What's it say?"

"Ah… 'AC05EF120'… isn't it…?"

"Is that the serial number or something?" Ruiko asked, grimacing slightly. Kuroko's knee was pressing at her back, and Kazari's elbow tried to dig into her brain. "So, uh – what does that mean?"

Kuroko frowned. "That bot… Uiharu."

"Yes… that's a serial number belonging to District 5." She looked worried. "Why do you think it was deployed here in District 7?"

"It was not. That is the fifth bot – it should not have been there." Kuroko was thinking so fast the friction of the gears in her brain seemed to heat up the entire enclosure. Ruiko gasped for breath near the floor. "There's no reason for them to use a bot belonging to another district, every district has plenty of bots to go around – and the inspector said there were only four bots last night."

"If a bot belonging to another district emptied at the District 7 deposit, someone would have noticed." Kazari said. She looked serious. "Is someone using the bot to gather items like this?"

Ruiko's eyes lit up. "It's the All-Eating Bot! It really exists after all!"

"This may be where the rumor sprung out from…" Kuroko looked thoughtful. She looked at Kazari. "Uiharu, can you access the GPS system used to monitor the bots from here?"

"Ah, well – I could try, but I'm almost out of battery and I didn't bring the charger…"

"We'll go to the office then."

"Uh - right now?"

"There is no time to lose. Get your clothes back on."

Ruiko sighed. "That sounds so wrong…"

XXX

"Should I go for yakisoba or ramen…?" Touma was thinking aloud while walking down the street, hands tucked into his pockets. He sighed. "I guess saving it is what a wise person would do, isn't it?" He looked up, as if the answer to this philosophical question would drop out of the sky and hit his face. As if answering his thoughts, his stomach growled, announcing its existence. He hadn't eaten anything since early in the morning, and even then had only been able to save a few cold sausages from their lunch yesterday before Index ate the rest of the left-overs.

He was feeling slightly useless now, as it seemed like Shirai-san had dismissed him entirely from the search, and he was just starting to feel like they really were doing the right thing too. However, trying to think with no food for energy was too much work.

And right now, his wallet was full for once. He looked around, spotting a nearby kiosk with the smell of newly grilled hot dogs oozing out; the perpetrator of his suddenly awoken hunger. He clenched his hand. Normally going outside his strict food budget would be considered daring, but right now he was a rich man. A rich, hungry man. He walked over to the kiosk and looked at their selection of hot dogs. As per standard of Academy City, there was a range of strange variants available; he decided to go with a luxurious onion-cheese hot dog with all the extras.

The clerk prepared his order and put the hot dog on the counter in front of him, booming with deliciousness. Touma barely managed to keep his saliva in as he pulled out his wallet and opened it. His fingers grabbed the rare and valuable note almost hesitatingly. His face felt sweaty all of the sudden. _If I lose it right now…_ This was his only means of getting food today, unless he happened to run into another gift-bearing person – which, by his standards, would be considered a fault in the mechanics of the world.

_There's no-one else around right now, so there's no chance of anyone bumping into me; there's no wind, so it won't be tugged out of my hand; it's not fake, since a Judgment member would have noticed… There's no way anything's going to happen! _With those reassuring thoughts in mind, he pulled the note out of his wallet, like a maestro raising his baton to start the orchestra symphony. It's uncertain whether Fukuzawa Yukichi ever dreamt of having his face printed on such a grand note only for it to be used to buy a measly hot dog, but at this point there was no turning back. The hot dog was waiting; Touma's stomach was growling. Ten thousand yen or no, soon it would be a heck of a lot of change instead.

"Thank you very much~" The clerk stretched his hand out over the counter. The ten thousand yen note hit it without being swallowed by a dark hole in the process.

_Success!_ Tears rolled down Touma's cheeks as the clerk withdrew his hand, holding the note safely in his palm. He was going to get food, finally.

"What's this?"

At the clerk's frown, Touma's heart skipped a beat. As if trying to mend it, he let out a small laugh.

"Aah, that's—" Whatever he was planning to say was probably useless, as it was clear as day what it was; a store owner would have to be raving drunk not to recognize money.

"Trying to be funny, eh? I don't have the change needed for this kind of cash." The clerk held the note up as if it was a used rag.

Touma was stunned. "What?" Maybe it was his hunger that overtook his common sense, but he found himself riled up. "What kind of kiosk would refuse to accept a ten thousand yen note?"

"The kind of kiosk that has to pay for their small change, jackass. Don't you have a bank account in this day and age? Or do you just enjoy flaunting your money about?" The kiosk owner stared him down like a bulldog challenging a terrier.

"There's no law against using cash!" Touma protested. "There are a lot of students who're too young to have a bank account, would you limit their choice of shopping by refusing to accept their money?"

"Most kids don't run around with ten thousand yen bills in their pockets in the first place; d'you think everyone's rich snobs just 'cause you and your friends have your asses stuffed?"

"Guh—I'll have you know I'm usually as poor as any other student; are you going to deny me my food now? Do you a reputation as the man who let a guy starve to death in front of his kiosk because of a dispute over small change?"

"Are you threatening me, mutt? I'll have you know I pride myself on selling the cheapest hot dogs on this block – of course they're not meant to be bought with ridiculous sized money!" The kiosk keeper handed the money back. "If you're going to be such a smartass, buy your hot dogs elsewhere!"

And then, to Touma's shock, the kiosk clerk used his hands to crunch the bill into a ball – and tossed it away through the air, above Touma's head. The ball of ten thousand yen sailed through the air like a deformed airplane.

"Nh – are you crazy? That's two whole weeks' worth of food if used sparingly!" Touma anxiously looked after the money, trying to predict its path.

The ball hit the shoulder of a by-passing girl, who winced in surprise – it then landed on the ground and was carelessly kicked aside by a passing student, thus rolling down the street.

"No way!" Touma went after it, shoving aside surprised students. He didn't care how pathetic it seemed; that was more money than he'd see in a while, if ever.

The balled up bundle of ten thousand yen halted its escape at the foot of a bench, at which point Touma realized others had noticed the free money lying around. An excited middle school kid was already on his way over to pick it up.

"Wait a minute!" Touma lunged forward and grabbed his arm, surprising the boy out of his wits – and the next moment his midriff was struck by something hard, and he lost his balance and fell over.

At first he thought he'd been assaulted by the boy, who might very well be an esper, but when he looked up and saw the boy's huge eyes looking at a specific point, his eyes glanced over – and widened.

"What the—!" Where the note had been lying just a second ago, nothing was left. In its place, a cleaning bot scurried out into the street once more, its beeps and spinning wheels completely disregarding what it had just picked up was as far from trash as you could possibly come.

Touma was too shocked to move for a second.

Then his mind changed a gear. _It can't be—!_ He got to his feet in a flash and took off after the cleaning bot. _Is that bot—?_

XXX

"I can't see the bot anywhere." Kazari said, gazing into the computer screen in front of her.

They had arrived at headquarters a minute after leaving the mall, as Kuroko's teleportation quickly got them through the busy city. They used Kazari's computer to gain entrance to the cleaning bot surveillance system. As if it had been swallowed up by the ground, however, the serial number AC05EF120 was nowhere to be found.

"So it's not actually deployed." Somehow, Kuroko was not surprised. It was more like this just underlined the notion that something was wrong with that bot. "Yet it was still out last night; there is a chance it's simply untrackable. The bots on duty aren't changed before 2PM, so if it follows the regular schedule, it should still be out there."

"I'll check something, give me a minute…" Kazari started typing on her keyboard, navigating through the hacked computer she was using. By chance, it could be the computer of the same inspector Kuroko had visited earlier. Uiharu's specially designed program made them able to do whatever they wanted on the computer without leaving any traces behind.

"Aah, here it is!" Kazari suddenly said. "According to the status report, this bot has been in for repairs since last week. That's ten days off of work; it should be at the service center in District 5 right now."

"Yet it seems like it's out and about instead, doesn't it?" Kuroko frowned.

"Yes… so what are we going to do?" Kazari asked, looking up at her partner.

Kuroko sighed. "There is nothing else to it. I will pay the service center a visit. If this is the bot that ate Onee-sama's cell phone, someone at the service center must have emptied the bot and acquired the cell phone. I will not stand for anyone ruining our anniversary like this!"

"Come to think of it, what is this anniversary for anyway?"

Kuroko turned halfway around, not fully facing Kazari. "This anniversary is… different from the others."

"Hah?"

"It is the 6 month anniversary... for when we first had an anniversary."

Kazari sweat-dropped. "That sounds like something only you would celebrate in seriousness, Shirai-san…"

"Sometimes one just needs a reason to have a good time." Kuroko said. Then she slowly shook her head, as if just having thought of something. "No… it shouldn't be necessary to have a reason for such things. Having a good time as friends should be something natural, something welcome in day-to-day life. Especially so after what we've…" Her voice faded.

Kazari blinked. "Wooah, that's so cool! Shirai-san said something cool! I wonder if this means the world's ending!" She looked out the window as if expecting to see erupting volcanoes.

"There's no reason to exaggerate."

"Ah, anyway…" Kazari smiled. "I'm sure Misaka-san would be really happy if you told her that."

Kuroko looked away. Her small frame looked even smaller for a moment. "I didn't think of it before now."

"Well, you could always tell her later." Kazari grinned. "Even if you can't find the phone strap, I'm sure she'll be in a good mood once you show her how much you care."

Kuroko smiled.

"I'll be leaving then." She turned around and teleported out of the office.

XXX

"Excuse me – get out of the way!" Touma forced his way through the crowd of students on the street, pushing aside anyone not heeding his chase – which was most – and receiving angry glares and protests in the progress. "I'm sorry – let me through!" The bot was already escaping down the sidewalk on the other side. Touma gritted his teeth and made to dive through another couple of people, when someone suddenly grabbed his shoulder.

He turned his head only to look into the glaring face of an older guy.

"Don't just push your way through like you own the street. You just elbowed her." The guy inclined with his head to the girl beside him, who looked anything but hurt. Touma couldn't even remember having brushed past her, but there was no time to argue.

"I'm really sorry! Excuse me!" Pulling free of the grip, he stumbled through the crowd and out on the other side. _Where is it? _Looking down the curb, he saw the bot turn into a side street. _There!_ He took off after it with all the speed he could muster. As he reached the alley that the bot had ventured into however, he met a huge obstacle.

"What the—!" The alley was too narrow for him to follow, with pipes and concrete blocking the route in waist-height and up. It was obviously designed to let bots roll freely to the next block, but wasn't meant for people to use. The only way for him to follow would be to crawl, and there was no way he'd catch up at that rate.

"Damn!" He set off down the street, and turned at the first side street that looked like it could lead in the right direction. Sprinting ahead, he looked down every junction he passed, but saw nothing. "There's no telling where it went!" Gritting his teeth, his mind worked quickly through his options. _Guess there's no other choice! _He found his cell phone in his pocket. _But I don't have her number…_ He was at a loss for a second, but then remembered.

In a hurry he typed a message and sent it.

A few seconds later, his phone beeped at an incoming message. With his heart in his throat, he opened it. A stupid looking smiley met him first.

'_Oh, what's this, Kami-yan~? I thought you were into older women!'_ Disregarding Aogami's playful banter, Touma was relieved to see a number following the message. Sending a quick 'thanks' in return, he pushed the number to call it, and put the phone to his ear. There were only a few rings before it was answered by a slightly confused voice.

"Yes?"

"Shirai-san!" Touma called out at the Judgment member. "I think I found the All-Eating Bot!"

XXX

"What do you mean, you already lost it?" Kuroko was standing on top of a building in District 7, having been teleporting towards District 5 when she got the phone call from the monkey.

"Ah, it went into a back alley, and I couldn't follow." Touma said. He had stopped in a back alley, leaning on his knees. "I'm not sure it's the same bot, but a normal cleaning bot wouldn't eat a ten thousand yen bill like that!"

Kuroko thought quickly. "Uiharu will be able to tell whether it was the same bot or not, though chances are it is. I find it hard to believe there're two All-Eating Bots rolling around unsupervised. As long as it doesn't move to another district, it should be possible to chase it."

"What should we do?"

"As it is, the bot will most likely try to blend in with the other bots in order to not get discovered. I'll have Uiharu check that bot's serial number just in case, and then we'll check any bots around until we find it."

"I was afraid you'd say that…" Touma sighed. Then he squared his shoulders and looked up. Not only was his entire food budget dependent on this, but he had already decided to help out. "All right! I'll start by searching this area!"

"The bots have passages for quick movement around the district. Give me your location; I'll start at the other end."

XXX

"Haaaah, haaah, I'm back, Shirai-sama…" A guy was breathing heavily while clambering up the staircase to the plateau in the park, a convenience store bag in his hand. "I finally found a store that sold brown tape… They were sold out at the first place, so I had to run across District 7 to get it… I have some change for you too…"

He looked over to where he had last left the Judgment member and the jerk, and his eyes widened.

"What!" Looking right and left, his insides twirled up. "Where did they—" but then he realized. His eyes widened, before his fists clenched around the handle of the shopping bag. "That wannabe jerk took off with Shirai-san! Who do you think you are, punk! I won't let you get away with this!" And so the thug named Rambo took off down the stairs again, rejuvenated by his own anger.

* * *

><p><strong>Note:<strong>  
>Spring is finally here! And so the planting of flowers, oiling of terrace, painting of outdoor walls, fixing the outdoor enclosure for the turtle and brushing the winter coat off of the dog commences. I'm hoping you all have a fabolous time!<p>

Index seems to me as a "little sister" character more than anything else, and that is probably reflected in the way I write her. Aogami and Tsuchimikado are fun guys, but I'll be the first to admit I don't know their characters very much at all. I did my research about them at the to aru Majutsu no Index wikia.

I want to thank Hollowpoint for beta-reading, that makes even this heap of junk (as it was when last chapter was posted) readable in the end ^^

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><em>Fukuzawa Yukichi<em> was a Japanese author, writer, teacher, translator, entrepreneur and political theorist who founded Keio University. His ideas about government and social institutions made a lasting impression on a rapidly changing Japan during the Meiji Era. He is regarded as one of the founders of modern Japan. Obviously this is enough to be pictured on the 10,000 yen note.

**Next time: **The hunt for the cleaning bot commences. Can this end well?


	4. Chapter 4: The Hunt

**Chapter 4: The Hunt**

It is not certain what the best method for finding a stray cleaning bot is for someone not affiliated with the firm that owned and controlled them, and there was probably no good answer, as this must be the first time it was necessary to do so.

According to Kuroko's Judgment partner, Uiharu Kazari, they couldn't trust the tracking system blindly; the bot they were searching for may look like it wasn't on there, but there was no saying someone hadn't altered the output, making it pose under another serial number. And if it truly was impossible to track, they had very few options left for how to find it. Thus, they agreed that checking all the bots they found would be the best bet. The bot that stole Touma's money couldn't be that far off.

Thus, Touma hurried through the town. Running down a busy street posed a variety of challenges, yet he had no time to slow down. Up ahead, a group of cleaning bots was sucking up litter around an over-flowing trash can, and he was not going to have them slip away right under his nose this time.

"Time – to break – illusions!" Shouting something insensible at the bots, he leapt forward and grabbed hold of the nearest one like it was a wrestling match. It immediately started trashing, desperately trying to roll over to another piece of gum wrapper. "Not yet you don't!" He held it tightly and gave it a once over. _Where the heck are the serial numbers anyway?_ There was a code bar on the top of its head, but it wasn't readable for humans. As he tried to see whether it was just really small, the bot suddenly started wailing loudly and red light blinked from a small lamp at the top of its head.

"_Warning – warning – assaulting cleaning bots will be fined_."

"Guh – I don't need a fine on top of everything else!" He let go immediately and stepped backwards, only to trip over another bot. "Uwah!" He fell and somehow ended up knocking the bot over with him. Several people nearby was staring at him by now, surely thinking he was a delinquent out for sabotaging property.

The bot was still wailing as it lay on its side.

"Ah – crap," Touma turned his head to look, and – of course, the serial number was written in readable human language on the underside of the bot.

"Why make it easy, huh…" He got to his knees, looking closer. "AC07… It's not the right number…" Of course not, that'd be way too lucky. He sighed, and suddenly more red alarm lamps flared around him.

"_Warning – warning – assault detected. Comrade down. Defense mode activated. Prepare extermination of threat._"

"Wha-what?" He jumped to his feet while the cleaning bots opened hatches in their empty faces, and a threatening _bzzt_ sounded from the device that was unveiled. "Stun guns? You're kidding me!" The next instant, he was assaulted by stinging stun guns from three different directions.

"Gaaah! Such misfortune!"

XXX

Things were quite different for the other member of the search team of two. If she wanted to, Kuroko could use her Judgment status to command them to stay still while she checked them, as they had been programmed to recognize the armband and follow certain orders given by someone wearing them (and who could present a valid Judgment ID card). However, there was something even simpler than that. Using a scanning app on her cell phone, she checked the code bars on the bots she passed; within five minutes she'd already found and scanned nine bots. None of them matched the serial number they were looking for however.

"Honestly, what a bother. They should put more effort into maintaining their system." Kuroko sighed.

"Are you sure about this?" Uiharu asked; she happened to be on the other end of the phone Kuroko was currently talking into.

"Of course, if they maintained their system properly we'd never have this situation to begin with."

"No… I meant, are you sure about doing all this? At this rate it's going to be a wild goose chase…"

Kuroko paused, thinking. "While I would love to simply get Onee-sama a new phone and be done with it (surely you can buy even Gekota phones in online auctions), there is obviously something going on behind the scenes here. It would not feel right to leave it as it is."

"Well, I guess you're right... But why would anyone use a bot for stealing?"

That was the question. Though the technology of Academy City was quite valuable to the outside world, using this crude method for obtaining it seemed not only extremely hard to execute, but also risky to keep up for a longer period of time.

Yet there was no point thinking about that now. "We won't know unless we find them. Since you found nothing suspicious in the service center records, we can only assume whoever's in on it knows the system very well." Kuroko teleported ahead while talking, eyes darting everywhere in search of any bots hiding amongst the civilians.

"The company manufacturing the bots, as well as developing and maintaining the AI, is called ITelligence," Kazari said. "We don't have a direct connection to the main system, but from what I could find in the records available on this computer –" meaning the computer she had 'borrowed' in order to use the tracking system, "—the bot should still be in for maintenance."

"Meaning they might not know about it themselves?" Kuroko frowned. If anything this was more like some kid playing a prank on them than actual criminals doing undercover operations. But fooling the bot system like that required some knowledge only the ones who'd seen it in action would have. If they asked the bot surveillance operators for help, or reported the bot as a possible system error, there was a chance the ones behind it would deactivate the bot and return it to where it was supposed to be before they could gather enough evidence. If that happened they'd need luck to find anything at all.

"I could try and see if I can somehow activate the GPS signals from the bot through the network here." Uiharu said. Kuroko thought that would be too simple to actually work, but it was definitely worth a try.

"If you could do that it would be a lot of help. I'll be on the search in the meantime. Call me if you find anything."

XXX

Still feeling a bit dazed after the shock treatment, Touma eventually finished checking the first bots and ran off in search for more. He seemed to remember them being all over the place usually, but now he couldn't find any at all. That wasn't to say they were all gone; it's just that when you start looking for something you normally just take for granted to be there, you'll find it's not as abundant as you may have thought.

After running around aimlessly for a few minutes, he found himself facing a large plaza. With the hundreds of people who had gathered, and the incredible level of noise, it was as if a popular pop idol had suddenly thrown a surprise concert for his devoted fans. Over the voices of the excited students (who somehow seemed to consist mostly of males), he could hear a commentator's voice emitting from the speakers placed around the plaza:

"And Ryouran Maid School is in the lead again, now with 23 finished pastries; will Gejo Middle School be able to catch up within the time limit? Oh my! Ameri-chan from Gejo just tripped! Is this the classic 'clumsy maid' trick being played out? How will Ryouran answer this?"

He must have stumbled upon the maid school's showoff that Tsuchimikado and Aogami Pierce were attending as spectators. More importantly, though, was that there were a lot of people here. _In this huge crowd, that bot would likely find a lot of targets. _He ran along the column of people, hoping to spot something resembling a bot in-between the many bodies.

Just as he was wondering whether he could get a better view from somewhere, a lone cleaning bot came rolling out of the crowd up ahead. _There it is! _His legs moved on instinct, propelling him forward. "I've got you!" He reached forward to grab hold of the bot – however, someone was quicker than him. A foot hit the cleaning bot head on with a fury that sent it toppling over right in front of his nose. It nearly crashed into a group of students standing at the very back of the crowd, and they jumped aside in surprise.

"Ah – thanks!" Not even looking at the bots' assailant, Touma ran over and checked the serial number. "Still not the right one, huh…" He'd gotten his hopes up because it was alone, but the rest of the group was probably close by.

"_Warning! Warning! Assault detected! Assaulting cleaning bots will be fined!_" The bot started wailing and blinking.

"Yeah, yeah, I know. How about you guys fine whoever it is that's using your own kind to steal stuff, huh…" A shadow loomed above him; Touma dodged to the side the second he noticed, and the vicious kick hit the bot again, denting the shell on its body. Touma turned around and saw the furious looking perpetrator.

"Wha – you—?"

"First you run off with Shirai-sama, and then when you grow tired of her you come here to watch a maid show, huh?" Rambo the thug sneered at him.

Touma was surprised to see him, but there were more pressing matters. "There might be a misunderstanding here, but I really don't have time for this…"

"I don't fucking care! To know you used her like that – I won't stand for it! Don't you even have the time to defend your manhood, punk?"

"There's nothing to defend it from!" Touma protested, conveniently ignoring a memory where he was cuffed up by a middle school girl. "And I really don't—"

"If you won't listen I'll just take you on the only way you'll understand." Rambo stomped forward and stuck his hand into the shopping bag he was carrying. Out of the bag he pulled a roll of brown tape. He tossed the shopping bag (which still seemed to carry more tape) aside, and then peeled off the end of the tape with a challenging look in his eyes.

It seemed to be meant as a weapon. Touma glared up at the thug. "Accusing others for not listening when—"

"Taste glue, you bastard!" Rambo charged forward, tape peeling off its base with a 'riiiitsj' sound. Though non-lethal and pretty harmless, it could be bothersome if he managed to tape his hands or face. Touma dodged sideways and barely avoided bumping into another person in the process. He quickly apologized and then dodged again as Rambo advanced.

"Are you a coward, motherfucker?" The thug's eyes glowed like candlesticks.

"If being brave means standing still and getting that thing stuck on my face, I prefer being cowardly!"

"I'll rip your eyebrows off!" Rambo lunged again, and Touma pulled away. The tape barely stuck onto his sleeve and he had to rip it off, which turned out to be much harder than expected.

"What is that, super-glue tape?" He finally got it off his fingers while Rambo dove forward against him. Touma dodged aside. "Why won't you listen to reason!"

"As if you have a fucking reason worth listening to!"

"That kind of misunderstanding is just sad!" Touma used his right arm to block the tape-wielding attack; while it wound around his arm, his left fist struck out towards Rambo and hit his cheek. That made him stop in his tracks at least.

"What the fuck!" He looked like he'd never expected someone to actually punch him during a fight. He put a hand to his cheek, looking furious. "I'm gonna fucking kill you, you fucking fucker!" Also, his vocabulary seemed to shrink by the minute.

"Hey! You there!" A freckled girl with a Judgment band on her arm shoved her way through the crowd and came towards them. Probably she was one of the Judgment members patrolling the area due to the event here. "No fighting in the streets!"

"Fine, let's move into a back alley!" Rambo proposed, and was promptly knocked to the ground.

Touma blinked; he had not moved an inch, and God knows he did not possess powers to knock someone flat to the ground with will alone. Thus –

"That's not what I meant, you idiot!" The Judgment member, who was obviously an esper, stepped up beside the groaning thug on the ground. "Man, guys are so excitable when maids are around…" She turned at Touma. "What is it about maids that bring out the worst in you?"

"Ah, well, that's not…" Touma started explaining, but in the end he had no idea what to say. Maybe it really was the maid's who'd made them so irritable? Had someone ever conducted research into what effect maid uniforms had on the male instincts? He imagined Aogami's expression if presented with the question, and sighed. Besides, he hadn't even seen them yet.

"Listen here, you!" the girl, hands on her hips, continued to lecture him. "I don't care about your _nee-chans _and strange, stereotypical fetishes; fighting over which of the maid students' are the cutest is just sad!" She threw a hand out, possibly in the direction of the stage where the competition was being held. "They're _all_ cute!"

Touma sweat-dropped, just as the crowd cheered again. Apparently a new point had just been awarded.

"_Warning, warning – assault detected—_"

"Oh shut up, will you!" The girl turned on the still wailing bot, and it looked like it was crushed beneath what might have been an invisible stomper.

Then;

"Oh crap, I killed it! Damn, this is all your fault, you jerks!" The girl, now furious, suddenly turned on Touma again, and he immediately put his hand out. Whatever it was she tried to do to him was dispelled against his Imagine Breaker, and he breathed out in relief.

"Huh – what…?" She looked perplexed. "You just…?" It looked like she had trouble understanding what he'd just done, but chances were she'd conclude he had a power to shield himself.

Touma decided not to start explaining it in detail. "I just ran into this guy who holds a grudge of some sort. I'm really sorry for disturbing the event."

"No…" The girl, still looking puzzled, shook her head slowly. "If anything, this event is disturbing enough on its own." She must have little interest for maid battles, even though she claimed they were all cute. "But if you're going to watch it, please refrain from making any more trouble."

Touma rubbed his neck, "No, I'm actually looking for the cleaning bot that stole my money…"

She blinked. "Oh... hah?" Apparently the weirdness of his comment struck her.

"You bastard…" The guy on the ground groaned; he was getting to his feet once more. "You ditched… Shirai-sama… to go hunting for a cleaning bot? But first…" His fiery eyes turned to the Judgment girl. "Tell me your name, miss!"

"Eh? Kamilia…"

He nodded once, as if mulling it over. "Kamilia-sama. I see. A great name for a great woman."

Somehow the sudden politeness didn't fit his character at all. It may just be that his personality was more complicated than you'd think. Or perhaps he was just something of a womanizer? However, Kamilia-san seemed more disturbed than flattered, which may be why Rambo turned his attention back to Touma. "Anyway, mutt! Is money really more important to you than being with Shirai-sama?"

"We're back to that now?" Touma sighed. It was probably better to tell the truth instead of trying to excuse himself. "If you really want to know, the bot didn't just eat my money, but also a friend's cell phone. Apparently it's called the 'All-Eating bot'. Since we don't really have much of a way to find it –" no reason to admit they were hacking into the tracking system, "– we have to search for it like this."

Rambo looked like he was trying to make up his mind whether Touma was lying or not; Kamilia-san laughed.

"Cleaning bots don't eat electronics, you know? Man, that you'd even believe an urban legend like that is quite impressive!" She snickered.

"Yes well, that's kind of the reaction I expected..." Touma said in a defeated manner. "Anyway, I'm kind of in a hurry, so…"

"Don't think I'll let you run off again!" Rambo the thug blocked his path, and Touma instantly dropped into combat stance. "This time, I'm coming with you."

Touma blinked. "Huh? Why?"

"_Why do you think?_ To make sure you apologize to Shirai-sama for misusing her, fuckass! I won't let some bastard off with insulting her at a whim!"

Touma sighed, straightening up again. "You know there's a huge misunderstanding here somewhere. But I guess more people are better at this point…" He had a feeling that even if he refused, Rambo would still follow him. It'd be a hassle trying to make him stay behind, so he might as well have him help look for the bot.

The Judgment girl sighed deeply. "I don't care what you're doing as long as you leave the rule-breaking aside. I'd give you a fine, but it's such a hassle. Just don't do anything else, okay? Good luck bot-hunting." She turned around and started making her way through the crowd back to the area in the middle, calling out for some colleagues to help her with the bot.

Rambo picked up his shopping bag full of tape. "I'll never forgive you if you hurt Shirai-sama, asshole."

"No offense, but if I ended up hurting her you're not the first person I would be worried about meeting afterwards…"

XXX

"Can't we somehow stop the bots from moving instead of trying to check them like this? This is fucking impossible!" Rambo the thug's voice was heard in the background through the phone.

"That'd make this all so much easier." Touma breathed out.

"Shutting down the entire cleaning bot service until we find the right bot?" Kuroko stopped atop a vending machine while talking into the phone. The kid who'd been about to buy something was nearly startled out of his skin when, due to the bump, the machine suddenly spit out two cans of soda instead of one.

"When you say it like that it sounds a bit excessive, but…" Touma hesitated.

"It's not a bad idea, but there is a problem with authority levels. Judgment does not have the authority to stop the system like that." Though incorporated into the infrastructure of Academy City, the system itself was private, owned by the firms producing the bots and developing their AI.

"So it's Anti-Skill, huh…"

"Yes, but getting them involved would require filling them in on the situation and presenting proof of what we're currently suspecting." Kuroko put a hand on her chin, thinking.

"Ah… we don't have anything beside a surveillance camera tape that may show a bot picking up an item it shouldn't have… that's a bit vague, isn't it…"

That was the problem. Without any proof that something illegal was going on, Anti-Skill would at best conduct a small investigation with no real hurry. So then what? Even disregarding the scheduled bot switch, checking every single bot by the end of _today _was too much. Was there no better way of doing this? She wracked her brain, but no matter how she thought about it, she came to the same conclusion. Unless they wanted to wait for Anti-Skill to involve themselves or Uiharu to find a way to track down the bot in question, they had no other choice but to do it this way.

Uiharu had not yet been able to activate the tracking program for the bot they were chasing, or she'd have called. There was no guarantee a way to do it from the outside even existed. Kuroko would prefer to get to the bottom of this as quickly as possible, but doing this with just the two (three) of them…

…there was only one way then, wasn't there?

Ignoring the kids now standing around the vending machine and calling at her to make it spit out more sodas, she addressed the person on the phone. "Kamishoun-san."

"It's Kamijou."

"If we had the means to make this search in much less time, should we use that opportunity?"

"What's this about now? Do you have a secret weapon or something? Don't tell me you can somehow teleport all the bots into the same place or..."

"Don't be ridiculous. That'd be a Level 7 ability."

"7? What's that, Super Saiyan 5?" He sighed. "Anyway, if you do have the means to make this search less of a pain, unless it's dangerous or something it'd really be better if you used it."

Kuroko looked upwards for a moment, as if assessing the grey skies above. "I see. Then, Kamijoy-san, I thank you for your help this far. As of now, you will not need to involve yourself further in this matter."

"What…?"

Was that a tint of worry in his puzzled voice? Kuroko smiled grimly. "This is no longer a case where a civilian should be involved. Please stop searching and spend the day like you normally would."

Touma sighed. "Haven't we already been through this? I'm not going to let you keep searching all alone. Let me help!"

For some reason, ignoring Rambo's 'I'll fucking help too!' in the background, Kuroko thought of her Onee-sama again. She quickly shook her head. _There's no way this monkey can remind me of Onee-sama! _

"I will be fine. There are certain ways for me to handle this." Of course, none of them would be easy to explain later. There was no time to worry about now, however.

"Even so, I already said I'd help you out. It won't feel right backing down on that now." He sounded so determined, Kuroko found herself surprised.

"Why are you insisting on this? Would it not be more preferable for you to go back to your original plans for the day?" She suddenly smirked. "Don't tell me you wish to prove your worth as a man in front of Onee-sama? My, my…"

Surprisingly, he sighed. "This doesn't just involve Misaka, but a lot of other students as well. And if that's not good enough for you, I want to get my money back!"

"So it's a selfish reason, then?" Kuroko played along.

"That's right! I'm greedy as hell!"

"Heh." She couldn't help but smile. But… "Even so, I'm afraid your assistance will be of limited use in just a few minutes."

"What?" Of course he didn't understand.

"I will see you around, Kamijoy-san." She hung up without waiting for his answer or explaining further, and navigated through her cell phone to a number she rarely used. Hesitating for just a moment, she punched the call button. There were only three rings before a cheerful voice greeted her.

"Yes, this is Judgment Main Headquarters, you're speaking to Momori Tachi~"

"This is Shirai Kuroko of 177th branch."

"Shirai-san, it's been a while!" The cheerful voice in the other end sounded pleasantly surprised. "How is your apology letters coming along? I see three blinking dots on your profile right now."

"I need to issue a code red." Kuroko proceeded, paying the other's words no heed.

"Really? You do know that kind of thing usually needs to go through your branch officer though…"

"There's no time for that. What is the point of emergency codes if we cannot use them in an emergency?" Kuroko barked into the phone. No turning back now.

"I guess you have a point there. Well, if it's really serious, I guess… Hold on a minute." There was a brief pause, and then the voice returned: "There, you're all set to go, Shirai-san!"

XXX

Kazari stared into her computer screen with a concentrated expression, navigating programs and computer language only a true nerd would understand. So far, she'd been able to find the source of the tracking programs installed in each bot, but finding that one bot she was looking for turned out more complicated than first anticipated.

"It'd be so much easier if there was a big 'ON'-button somewhere…" She scrolled down the query results, not really expecting to find anything (if they really wanted to hide the bot they'd make sure it was completely disconnected from the main network). _Shirai-san will be disappointed if I can't find anything at all…_

"Yohooo!" Ruiko's muffled, cheerful voice suddenly sounded through the door. The door tugged, but didn't budge. "Huh? You locked the door? Uiharu!"

"Aah, I didn't know you were coming!" Kazari got up from her chair and went over to open the door for her friend. Ruiko stood on the other side with one shopping bag in each hand, grinning.

"Wow, I think this is the first time I've ever come here and found the door locked…"

"That's because I usually unlock it when I know someone's coming." Kazari let her into the office, and she went right over to the sofa in the corner and put her shopping bags into it. Kazari eyed the amount with surprise. "Did you suddenly unlock some secret cash vault or did you find another bargain?"

"After you left I found tons of good stuff for just half the price. Look at this dress!" Ruiko pulled out one of her acquired treasures.

"Aah, that's cute!" Kazari's eyes shimmered, and she touched the soft fabric with awe. "This kind of material is usually super-expensive!"

"I know, I bought two of them just because I could!"

Suddenly, a beep sounded from the computer over at Kazari's desk. "_This is an automated alert message from Judgment Central HQ. Please pay attention._"

"Eh?" Kazari blinked and looked over. It seemed like a message box had popped up on one of the screens. "Central Headquarters? That's rare…"

"Judgment has a Central Headquarters?" Ruiko sounded surprised. "I didn't know you guys were that organized!"

"Well, it's mostly just a place for collecting shared information, and where our databases are stored…" Kazari trailed off as the computerized message that force played itself on her computer went on: "_This is a code red assignment. There has been a severe security breach in Academy City. The target objective is a cleaning bot with the serial number AC05EF120. Repeat; this is a code red…_" Kazari's face turned more and more dreadful. When the message finally ended, her face looked completely ashen, in contrast to the colorful array of flowers adorning her hair.

"No way... Shirai-san...?"

"What was that?" Ruiko asked, puzzled. "Did Shirai-san do something?"

"Shirai-san just… Shirai-san…" She had no idea whether it was her, but there was no one else who would do this kind of thing. And the message had mentioned the very same bot they were looking for; coincidences like that simply did not happen!

"What? What is it? Don't sound so aghast without telling!" Ruiko shook her shoulders.

"S-Shirai-san just activated a red code."

"And that means…?" Ruiko, being no Judgment member, had never heard about it before.

At least the shaking had stopped, but Kazari still felt like she could fall off the chair any moment.

"It means the entire Judgment has just been put on this case."

"…EEEH?"

XXX

All over Academy City, students who were out shopping, eating, walking with their boyfriends or girlfriends, doing homework, laundry or paperwork at the office, even those out on official Judgment patrol, picked up their cell phones, as if they all simultaneously got the same message. And the message made instant action take place. All of the sudden, green armbands were pulled out of pockets, handbags, trousers and bras, strapped onto their shirts, jackets and sweaters proudly, as they explained to their confused company: "There's an emergency! Sorry, but I have to step out!"

And then, they all moved. Like one massive army of trained soldiers hiding in-between the civilians, Judgment members of the entire city suddenly made haste. Their objective was clear; find any and all cleaning bots in your proximity, and report their serial number to the Judgment HQ before they were switched out in the bot shift. Time limit: 23 minutes. Target: The bot with the serial number of AC05EF120.

XXX

"Why would she do _that_?" Ruiko had trouble understanding the extent of Kuroko's actions. "It's just a cleaning bot, right? It's not like we're facing the

"I don't know! I need to find out where that bot is before things really go out of hand!" Kazari started punching in commands at her computer. "But I don't know where to look—wah?" The computer suddenly made a series of noises, like an alarm.

"What was that?" Ruiko looked at the screens, but couldn't tell.

Kazari's eyes widened. "It's the firewall! Someone's trying to gain access to the Judgment databases!"

"No way, you're being hacked?" Ruiko sounded excited. "But I thought the Judgment system was really secure!"

"It is! It should be almost impossible for anyone to gain access like this…" Kazari's eyes widened. "No – they're using the connection I made to the cleaning bot system!"

"They can do that?" Ruiko seemed impressed. "This city is full of scary people…"

Kazari started hammering on her keyboard, and the windows on her screen rapidly followed every command she gave. "If I can find the source of the attack…"

Normally, she would simply cut the connection. However, even the bot surveillance system itself was merely Level C security; Judgment's systems were Level B. It should already be impossible for them to get inside. _Since they can do it, it means they probably have the means of getting in elsewhere too. And being disconnected means I can't stop them._ Kazari kept tapping away while she thought of what to do in counter. Why did this happen now? Attacks on their databases were so rare; it must be someone affiliated with the stray bot wanting to divert their attention. _Is it a response to the activation of the red code? But it's so fast..._ She couldn't dwell on that now however; it was more important to stop the attack before they could cause any real harm.

Ruiko pumped her fist. "Well then hacker-san, let's see you take on Uiharu, Judgment's greatest computer nerd!"

"Yes, yes, computers are what I am best at after all..." Kazari's fingers worked with the expertise of a master-level pianist. Data flashed before their eyes in incomprehensible language. Then; "Ah." Kazari stopped, looking at one of the screens.

"What is it?" Ruiko nearly leaned into the screen using the chair as support, and suddenly the chair gave way and tipped over from the added weight.

"Owah!" The chair's back hit the floor, and Ruiko nearly fell on top of Kazari.

"Saten-san!" Kazari stared up at her with a suprised pout.

"Aahaha, sorry…" Ruiko rubbed her neck and got back to her feet. "I guess I got a bit too excited..."

"Jeez…" Kazari sighed and put the chair back on its wheels.

"So, what happened?" Ruiko asked. "Did you find him?"

"I can't narrow the source down to a single computer, which means he might be using a public network and covering his tracks by using other computers and devices around him as decoys." Kazari pushed a few more buttons and a map popped up at the screen, dotted with several red markings. "There's no guarantee, but it seems likely he's somewhere around this area, as most of the signals originate from here."

Ruiko stood up abruptly. "Then I'll go check it out!"

"Wh-wha? Saten-san, it could be dangerous!" Kazari stared at her. "You can't just barge out there and expect to find him!"

"No worries! I'd just be disturbing you by staying here anyway, right? I'll just stroll around like normal, and if I find anyone suspicious I'll tell you. If you can, try hijacking his webcam and send me a picture!"

Kazari watched the door close behind her friend and felt just a bit worried.

XXX

Even with the entire Judgment at work, Kuroko did not slow down the slightest. She tracked down group after group of cleaning bots, each negative result seemingly only adding to her determination. Sweat was running down her brow as she moved on to her next target, running down the sidewalk instead of teleporting now, to save energy. The asphalt was still wet from the night's shower, the grey sky rumbling ominously above. Would the bots switch out before the rain started falling? Whatever happened first, it would slow down their work either way.

Three Judgment members were carefully examining a group of cleaning bots across the street, and curious bystanders were asked to move along quietly. They might not find the bot using this method, but with this level of activity there was no way the ones behind it would fail to notice. Also, if the exchange of bots went by as usual, they were now more likely to spot any bots not participating. That bot would be their target. _The only setback would be if they returned the bot to its usual service, but in that case I'll just have to start digging in deeper!_

Her phone gave a chime, and she stopped to pick it up, hoping for some good news.

"Ui—"

"What the hell do you think you're doing!" It was most definitely not her flowery-headed Judgment partner. The day when Uiharu would open a conversation like that, or in fact, talk like that at all, had yet to come.

"K-Konori-senpai…?"

"You better have a _good _reason for cancelling my day off in the sauna! If this is some kind of joke…" Now more like a growl, the voice was easily recognizable as belonging to her senior Judgment member. And like every other member, Konori-senpai would have gotten the message about the stray bot.

Kuroko's face was drenched in sweat. She hadn't thought about that. "Aah, whatever are you talking about, Konori-senpai…?"

"Don't play innocent with me! I heard the alert message and called a friend at HQ just because I had a bad feeling. To think it was actually you—!"

Damn her good connections. Kuroko gave up on trying to hide it. "You sound stressed, Konori-senpai."

"Of course I'm stressed! We finally saved enough money to come to the _Royal Blue _sauna, and then you go and – grrrr!" Luckily, there was quite some distance between them, and Konori-senpai could not hurt her through the phone save for screaming loud enough to affect her hearing.

"We do not know the purpose of the bot yet, but it has already stolen Onee-sama's cell phone. The situation is… dire." Kuroko tried to amend her reputation, though it may already be too late.

"Misaka-san's phone was stolen? Well, while I feel sorry for her – _do you really think that's enough of a reason to call the entire Judgment to work?_"

Kuroko kept a straight face. There was no denying this was all a rather big operation, calling even off-duty Judgment members to action, and most likely it'd attract the attention of Anti-Skill too. However, she had good reason. "Even if it's just a _Gekota_ cell phone and a _Gekota_ phone strap (and even leaving Onee-sama's foul mood aside), there is still the concern as to what anyone would want with a bot that picks up cell phones."

There was a heavy sigh. "I guess you're right… but this sounds like something we could easily convince Anti-Skill to investigate. A prank by some kids maybe, testing their ability on one of the bots. Why did you have to use a _code red_? Why were you even allowed to? I'll kill that stupid—"

It sounded like someone tried to calm her down in the background, as noises of disagreement broke out. Kuroko was grateful, but Konori-senpai was not finished lecturing her.

"Even you should realize that this might cause a panic amongst the students!" She sounded slightly more composed now, but still furious.

"There was no other choice at the time, and things have gone by smoothly. There is no reason for you to worry, Konori…" Kuroko trailed off as she noticed a person exiting one of the side streets up ahead, looking left and right. Their clothes were large and baggy, and the person had a cap pulled low over their face, screaming of someone wanting to stay unnoticed. What made Kuroko trail off, however, was that when the person noticed the Judgment members down the road, they instantly turned around and hurried back down the alley.

A coincidence?

"Shirai-san?" Konori-senpai's voice woke her up like an alarm.

"I'll call you back later!" With no time to say goodbye, Kuroko teleported across the street and dashed into the alley. The person was quick, but there was no outrunning a teleporter who knew the alleys of District 7 as well as the underwear of her own roommate. She caught up in no time, appearing in front of them in the street and pulling out her armband as if it was her signature move.

"This is Judgment!" The phrase held the unspoken command of 'stop and follow my orders' that most people would recognize, however this person simply kept going forward with an even greater speed. Perhaps hoping to knock her down and escape. Kuroko waited, and dodged the charge at the very last moment. The assailant, surprised by having missed, next experienced hitting the ground face down. Kuroko put a foot on their back, like a hunter posing for the camera.

"Be thankful I didn't teleport you into the wall. I was inclined to merely asking you a few questions, but at this point there is no doubt that you're up to nothing good." She smirked down at the back below her. The person struggled to get up on all fours, and Kuroko pressed her foot down harder.

"Why did you run off when you saw Judgment? Are you perhaps carrying something in those baggy clothes of yours?" She smirked as the person seemed to stiffen. "If you show me what you've got I might be willing to let you off with a warning."

The person gritted their teeth, turning their head to manage a glare at Kuroko. "As if I'd listen to you Judgment folks!"

Kuroko touched the cap on the person's head on teleported it away. A bunch of rolled-up hair fell down around the shoulders, revealing her as a girl. She kept glaring up at Kuroko, and Kuroko smiled back.

"This matter is pretty simple," she said. "Either you show me what you've got, or I will teleport the clothes off your body and check for myself."

"Kh—" The girl gritted her teeth, looking like she tried to judge whether Kuroko was serious or not. But Kuroko did not give off the impression of being a person to joke about such things, and whatever she chose in the end, the result would be the same. Forcefully getting stripped naked in the middle of the street was a too humiliating option for anyone to consider. Thus, the girl agreed to show her. As her pockets emptied, a myriad of different items emerged; wallets, the occasional jewelry, cell phones (though no Gekota phone) – a whole little treasure chest seemed to have been fitted into those clothes. The last item to hit the ground was a curly 10,000 yen note.

"Did you by any chance collect these items from a cleaning bot?" Kuroko was already convinced she had hit jackpot and was just asking for confirmation. There was no way a simple thief could gather all these items.

The girl did not answer, which only spoke more clearly of her guess being correct.

"Perhaps you noticed that Judgment were investigating the bots and grew concerned that we would find the bot before you could empty it? So you decided it was better to empty it while you had the chance – perhaps even returning the bot to its usual service afterwards. However, you had not anticipated so many to be looking for it already. No…" she was suddenly puzzled, "the question is how you knew we were looking for it at all…" Only Judgment members should have gotten the alert message; had she simply seen them move into action and made the guess? If so, that was some lucky timing… So then, had she simply been emptying it on schedule, which happened to be at the same time they conducted their search?

"You don't know anything, do you?"

"Hm?" It took a second before Kuroko realized the girl was talking to her.

"You don't know anything at all! Figures, with how useless you folks are!" The girl laughed unpleasantly. "You know nothing about me, the Zoo, or—" She suddenly cut off, and her face grew an impressive shade of red.

"The Zoo?" Kuroko envisioned monkeys and giraffes – probably not related?

"…" the girl glanced away, mouth tightly shut. Was she trying to confuse her? Or… _Ah, I see. _Kuroko slowly smirked. "The Zoo, hm? I believe I haven't heard of them before, but perhaps you can tell me more?"

The girl still didn't answer.

"Or perhaps you would be happier talking to Anti-Skill. However…" Kuroko sighed exaggeratedly, "I find contacting Anti-Skill such a bother. Maybe I should…" she pulled out a spike and twirled it between her fingers, "…encourage you instead."

The girl's lower lip trembled, but she was stubbornly looking away still. Kuroko was impressed, but there was no doubt she had said something she shouldn't earlier. Mentioning 'the Zoo' had obviously been a mistake. If she could wry out of her what this 'Zoo' was, she might get closer to finding the origin of this cleaning bot incident – and the whereabouts of Onee-sama's cell phone.

Kuroko sighed again. "Well now, did I sign up for Judgment to fight trash like this?"

This got her a reaction. "Who're you calling trash, you—" but just as the girl turned her head with an angry look on her face, something heavy hit the back of her head. Kuroko thought it heavy not because of how it looked or the material it was made of, but because of the fact that she was smacked right into the ground – for the simple reason that, whatever it was, it was completely invisible.

"Uwaah, that scared me!" Kuroko looked up in the direction of the voice and saw a fellow Judgment member, curly red hair and freckles giving her a very youthful look, though she was taller than Kuroko. "I thought she was going to attack you…"

Kuroko couldn't blame her for acting on instinct, but… "That amount of force was unnecessary." Her one lead to the cause of this incident was now lying unconscious on the ground.

"Ah, well…" the girl came over and looked down at the girl. "I saw you running off into the alley and thought you might be in trouble, so I followed you in." Her shoulders sunk in defeat. "I guess I should have waited to see if you were truly in danger."

"Indeed you should. Did they not teach you at Judgment training? Which branch are you from?" Kuroko had never seen the girl before, and thought of reporting her to her branch officer.

"I'm Kamilia Amira from 27th Branch. Please don't report me!" She bowed her head. With that quick reaction, Kuroko wondered if she'd experienced being reported before. Getting reported was bad enough for your reputation amongst other Judgment members, but have it happen too many times and HQ might revoke you of your Judgment membership. So it was only natural she'd want to avoid it if possible. _In which case she should refrain from doing things like that!_

"Um… are you Shirai Kuroko-san?"

"Yes?" Kuroko was surprised she knew her name.

"I figured… I met your co-searcher earlier. Man, that code red announcement really surprised me. I've never been in such an operation before."

Neither had Kuroko. She felt no need to share that fact with the other girl though. In the first place, that the girl seemed to know it was her who had called in the emergency code was surprising. Konori-senpai might not be the only one with connections at HQ. _Those guys are just too slack… _even though she had just been one to severely misuse that slackness, her judgment was merciless.

"Hmm…" Kamilia-san looked down at the girl. "Wow, she seems to have collected quite an amount… do you think it came from that bot?"

"Quite possibly." Kuroko looked thoughtfully down at the girl. "She seems to know a fair deal about what's going on. This 'Zoo' she mentioned might be a clue as to who's behind it all."

"You really think so?" Kamilia-san looked rather doubtful. "Isn't it just a dysfunctional bot?"

"If it is, it might turn out the 'Zoo' has just been taking advantage of a system error. In which case they are still guilty for theft and not reporting it in." Kuroko pulled out her cell phone. Now when they finally had some proof, it was about time to contact Anti-Skill and conduct an official investigation.

Kamilia-san shrugged. "Whatever you say. But still—" She was interrupted by a howling alarm that suddenly filled the air.

Kuroko had heard the sound before. "Is that not the cleaning bots' alarm?"

A group of cleaning bots zoomed towards them, blinking red lamps and alarms howling. "_Warning, warning. Hostile individuals spotted. Prepare to neutralize threat."_

"What?" Kuroko's eyes widened as the bots proceeded to activate their stun guns and fan out in formation, facing them. "They're targeting _us_?"

"Oh, they wanna fight, is that it?" Kamilia-san cracked her knuckles. "About time something happened!" And she charged forward.

Kuroko was surprised, and seeing another Judgment member getting hurt in front of her was not something she'd like. She pulled out a bunch of spikes and looked up just in time to see how Kamilia-san's sent the first bot flying into the wall, where it was smashed against the concrete. The bot coming in from her side was too quick, however – Kuroko took it out with a spike into its center. Kamilia-san jumped aside in surprise as the bot veered off course, spewing error messages.

Together, the two of them made short work of the attacking bots. Though Kamilia-san's ability was slow, it was powerful enough to take out a bot in a single strike.

"Haha, that was nothing!" Kamilia-san laughed loudly as she asserted their work. "If you want to have a go at Kamilia Amira, try using a tank or fighter jet at the very least!"

Kuroko, who had just scanned all the serial numbers, was none the wiser. "It is none of these…" She could have explained it had the bot they were targeting been amongst these. The ones behind it might have a means of controlling the bots in its proximity, by giving out false alert messages for instance. But even so, having them attack Judgment members on sight… _Can they manipulate more than one bot directly…? _The thought was unsettling, yet she could not dismiss it. _If they can, there might be traces of their access left in the central cleaning bot system. Uiharu will have discovered it – but why make them attack us? _She glanced back at the unconscious girl. _Because of her? A rescue attempt? _Maybe whoever was behind this had constructed an emergency rescue plan by using other bots to attack while some other accomplices snuck in and took the girl with them. But if so, they would have to have known she was already unconscious and unable to escape on her own. There just hadn't been enough time for them to execute such a plan. In other words...

Her train of thought was interrupted when her phone chimed. She picked it up and saw the name of the monkey-man displayed.

"Yes, what is it?"

"Shirai, are you okay?" Not even a greeting first.

"Who gave you permission to address me like that?"

"Sorry about that, but we have trouble!" Through the line, Kuroko could hear lots of noise and panicked voices. Immediately, her eyes widened. No... it couldn't be...

Kamijou's voice was stressed. "The bots, they – suddenly, they started attacking the Judgment members around here! It's complete chaos!"

XXX

At the Anti-Skill HQ of District 7, the day was already dull.

"Man, not even a single vandalism report." Yomikawa Aiho gave a deep, rallying sigh, her head supported on her hand, and her other hand clicking the computer mouse tiredly. The longhaired Anti-Skill officer, who doubled as a gym teacher at one certain high school, was feeling like going out for a beer already. "The bars should open at ten, jan."

"Aaah, Yomikawa-sensei, there's still the paperwork from the serial mugger last week." Her junior, Tessou Tsuzuri, helpfully provided. She was sitting over at her own desk, surrounded by mountains of paper. "You could help me out, if you're bored…" She hesitantly smiled.

Aiho turned around to look at her, a nonchalant look on her face. "You need to learn to use a computer, jan."

"Aaah hehe, it's just, I prefer reading from plain paper…"

"Then why don't you get one of those e-book-jan's?" Aiho asked. "They are like advanced paper, with a storing capacity of more than 1 billion documents in a single device. We have tons of them in the storage."

"Aaah…" Tsuzuri rubbed her neck awkwardly. "I'm not really that technological…"

Aiho sighed. "How is it possible to not be technological in a city like this-jan…"

"Haha, I wonder…"

Aiho sighed. Looking over at one of their colleagues, she asked: "Is anything happening, jan?"

The man looked at the screens beside him. He was their monitor officer for the day, keeping track of the different alarm systems and surveillance camera groups around District 7.

"Nothing much." He reported. "Judgment is still investigating cleaning bots, it seems. The red code from a few minutes ago is still active." He scrolled through a row of cameras, showing Judgment members overturning cleaning bots and quite clearly doing some sort of investigation all over town.

"Code red-jan?" Aiho stared at him.

He looked back, clearly puzzled. "Yes?"

"Judgment activated a code red?" Tsuzuri seemed shocked.

"What's up with the reaction?" He said, suddenly guarded. "What's the deal about this code red any—"

"ARE YOU A MELON-HEAD-JAN?" Aiho startled everyone in the office with her yell. The man in front of her blinked, but his cheeks were reddening. He may be new in Anti-Skill, but not even knowing what a code red meant was beyond excusable newbie mistakes.

"I – I thought it was just something those kids came up with… I've never heard about a code red before..." his excuse for not reporting earlier was promptly declined as Aiho strode forward.

"Just because they never use 'em doesn't mean they don't have 'em! Give me the phone!" She picked up the office phone while she spoke, as if not even trusting him to do that much. She punched in a row of numbers and waited. Somewhere in the office, another phone rang into the silence, quickly picked up.

Then her call was answered: "Haaai, Judgment Main Headquarters here~"

"This is Yomikawa Aiho of Anti-Skill," Aiho said.

"Ah, Yomikawa-san, good morning! How is—"

"What is going on?" She rudely interrupted the cheerful girl. She watched image after image of Judgment members checking cleaning bots in a controlled fashion on the screens before her.

"Aaah, you mean the bot hunt? There is a code 442." That was the carefree answer.

Aiho frowned again. "Isn't that the code for severe security breach, jan?"

"Yes, that's right! We're currently searching for an unauthorized cleaning bot that is being used to spy on our students," the girl happily explained, not sounding particularly troubled. "Apparently, the only way to find it is by searching all the bots in town, hoping to find the right serial number~"

Aiho frowned even deeper. "An unauthorized cleaning bot?" She looked at her male companion, who quickly shook his head as if to say he had no idea what she was talking about.

"Aaah!" Tsuzuri suddenly wailed, capturing their attention. She looked positively stricken. "It can't be that 'All-Eating bot', can it?"

"An all-eating bot-jan?" Aiho repeated.

"I heard it from some students," Tsuzuri suddenly reddened, "A-apparently there's an urban legend going around. There are several theories on what it really is, for example that it's collecting items with DNA traces of our students, and delivering it to an outside organization, or that someone's simply selling those same items on the black market…"

Aiho stared at her, and then looked back at the screens. "That would truly be troublesome…"

"Ah, well, it's just an urban legend though…"

"I don't know if it's real or not, but it seems we're doing our best to find it." The cheerful Judgment member said. Then; "Oh, wait a moment, I just got a message here…" The Judgment member turned off the sound on her phone.

Suddenly, an Anti-Skill officer called out from his desk space: "_What_?"

Aiho and Tsuzuri looked over. "What's wrong-jan?"

He was on the phone, but turned towards them. "One of our patrolling officers reports that a group of cleaning bots suddenly attacked the Judgment members checking them – they're moving in!"

"It's the same here!" Another officer added in, looking just as troubled. "This was in Area A. Should we check with the cleaning bot surveillance?"

"Are they having a system malfunction? Someone give them a call!"

"I'm on it!"

The Judgment member Aiho was talking to on the phone came back. "Ah, I just got informed that we're currently having trouble with the cleaning bots." She sounded no more worried than usual. "Apparently they started to defy our orders and treat our members as regular thugs. Ho-ho, this is quite worrying, no?"

The office phone was ringing almost non-stop now; Aiho's colleagues were busy as bees trying to answer them all. It was like an explosion had just gone off, compelling everyone to call them at once. There was only one word to describe such a happening: Panic.

"Officer down in Area F after helping a Judgment member escape a group of cleaning bots, they are requesting assistance!"

"Students are panicking in Area D after someone fired an evacuation flare!"

"More cleaning bots reports from Area C and D!"

"There are problems at the Seventh Mist mall, Judgment are having trouble controlling the chaos!"

Tsuzuri was frantically looking right and left, but Aiho need not hear anymore. Her fist banged into the desk, and her voice raised above all the others as she loudly announced: "This situation is growing out of hand! Someone contact the bot surveillance and find out what's going on already-jan!"

"I can't get through on their phone!" Someone shouted.

"Then walk over there and ask what the hell's going on-jan! Everyone, get ready. Anti-Skill will head out to assist Judgment!"

XXX

People were staring.

Though she tried to ignore it, Mikoto couldn't blame them. After all, the sight of a girl dressed in a nun habit was rare in itself; seeing said girl devour plate after plate of food like it all disappeared into nothingness, was even more baffling.

"Are you even human?" Mikoto commented. She had one empty plate of food in front of her, contrary to the countless in front of Index. The girl was going to break some sort of world record at this rate. Well, some of the food may go to the kitten sticking its head up from the chest of her nun outfit, but it could hardly eat enough to justify this amount of gluttony.

"You're not usually supposed to bring pets into restaurants…"

"Sphinx isn't a pet!" Index protested. "He's my friend."

Mikoto sighed. "I guess that changes everything."

Index put down the plate she had just emptied with a satisfied sigh.

"Aaah, I can't eat anymore…"

"About time. The cooks are going to have a heart attack if you force them to work any harder."

"I never knew there were places where you could eat all you wanted!" Index looked around in awe. "I'm jealous that someone like short-hair knew…"

Mikoto's forehead twitched slightly at the nickname. "It's called a buffet." She said, swallowing her irritation. "A lot of restaurants offer it."

"A buffet?" Index looked at her in puzzlement.

"…You pay a certain amount of money and then you can eat as much as you can… why do I need to explain this? What kind of rock would you have to live under to not know such a basic thing?"

"Aaah, so such a thing really existed! I heard about it on TV, but Touma said it was just a fairy tale. Touma, you liar!" Index puffed her cheeks out unhappily.

Mikoto sighed. "I can imagine why he'd say that…" If she behaved like this every time she ate outside, it would be embarrassing to be the one accompanying her. In the end, one might risk being banned from all the restaurants due to them going bankrupt.

She glanced over at the other girl with a bored look on her face. "So… you talk about that guy all the time. Are you really that close?"

Index gave her a considering look. "Hmm, is short-hair jealous?"

Mikoto instantly reddened. "Wha—why would I be jealous! That moron can do whatever he wants; I don't care!" She looked away stubbornly. "I was just wondering where you live, is all. Do you even go to school? Is that the uniform of one of the theology schools in District 12?"

"Huuh, your face is all red. Are you really interested after all?" Index smirked to herself.

Mikoto huffed. "Just answer my question already." It wasn't like she had to know to satisfy her curiosity. It was more like a question that had to be asked. The girl always seemed to hang around that idiot, and…

Index, apparently feeling very content in this situation, leaned into the chair. "Huuuh, short-hair wants to know who I am… I wonder if I'll have the advantage if I don't tell her anything…"

Mikoto cringed, but heroically pulled a stoic face. "Do whatever you want, jeez. It's not like I care anyway."

"Ohoho. I sense great tension in your words."

"Who are you, a certain green midget?" Mikoto sighed and picked up her glass of water, twirling it around. "That idiot can do whatever he wants. I'm not about to pry into his private life because of curiosity. If he wants me to know, he'll tell me." She put the glass to her lips.

"Hmmm." Index looked thoughtful. "Touma never tells me anything about his troubles or worries. Even though we live together and he promised to take care of me –" Mikoto nearly sprayed the table with water, "– he always runs off somewhere on his own." Index looked unhappy, puffing her cheeks. "Even leaving me with no food…"

"Ugh – I'm sure he has his reasons…" Mikoto offered her sentiments after successfully swallowing the mouthful of water without suffocating.

"It'd be much easier if he shared those reasons with me." Index pouted.

Feeling like escaping this conversation, Mikoto looked out of the window beside them, and saw something that caught her attention. "Huh? Why is Anti-Skill…?" As she watched, a group of adults wearing the Anti-Skill uniforms ran past outside, and she could see several Judgment members on the other side of the street, running in the same direction. _What's with all this activity? Did something happen?_

* * *

><p><strong>Note: <strong>

Words and terms:  
><em>Gejo <em>middle school: Gejo (下女) = maid servant

_To beta-reader Hollowpoint:_ there's been a heck of a lot of edits in here since you read this, so you may wish to do a quick re-read of the chapter before reviewing.

_To everyone else:_ If you find any errors or wtf's or simply have some thoughts about the chapter, please tell!

Due to this story being horribly planned (not at all) when I first wrote it, this chapter gave me a lot of trouble. I also stepped into several traps along the way. And there were several reasons why I put off working on it *cough*100hours of Xenoblade Chronicles*cough*

As a writer I'm always interested in doing my best, and learn from mistakes. I wrote a review to myself on this chapter and on writing in general which turned into something of a reminder on the things I have the most trouble with. Since I went to the lengths of writing it down, I'd like to share it with any other aspiring writers who may happen to read this story and are looking for some advice.

The topics are points of view, dialogue, presenting details and planning the story. These 4 things are what I have the most trouble with (in this story at least), so I decided to focus on them.

**The "review" can be found at my blog, cundou wordpress com (add . in the spaces), if you're interested. It was simply too long to pass as an author's note.  
><strong>

****TL;DR: ****There are several issues which I've done my best to deal with here. I think the chapter is acceptable as it is now and am happy enough to share it with everyone. I'm curious what _you _think about it too though, so please leave a review!


	5. Chapter 5: The Hunter

ACMP chapter 5: The Hunter

By Cun

XXX

"I see now. This is what an idiot is."

Kamilia-san looked at the unconscious girl with an unimpressed expression on her face.

They had called Anti-Skill at last, and were asked to bring the girl to Judgment 177th Branch for the time being. The situation with the cleaning bots appeared to have escalated quickly, and Anti-Skill had to prioritize the safety of the students. So they'd ended up placing her on the couch in the interview room of 177th Branch.

"Going out to empty the bot all on her own when there's Judgment everywhere. Even if your connections suck you ought to have eyes on your own." Kamilia-san leaned even closer to the girl's face, as if trying to find said eyes. "She ought to wake up soon. Do you think she's faking? She's cute though."

Kuroko wondered what that had to do with anything. "How long do people usually stay knocked out after you hit them like that?"

"Well, normally they wake up after a few minutes." Kamilia-san answered with worrying seriousness. "When I'm stressed it's hard to judge the force though." She pinched the girl's nose with her thumb and forefinger. The girl suddenly gasped for air through her mouth. "Oh, she's awake. Up you go!" Kamilia-san grabbed her shoulders and helped the girl sit up. She didn't look like the emotional mess from earlier. If anything, she looked sour.

"This is Judgment 177th Branch." Kuroko said in ways of greeting. "You are in our custody for the time being. Alas, now is the time for you to start talking. You mentioned 'the Zoo'. What does it refer to?"

The girl looked at her with an uninterested expression and said nothing.

"You should co-operate and your punishment will be milder." Kuroko offered, but still had no reaction from their suspect. "What is your relation to the All-Eating Bot?"

"I'm not obliged to talk to you, Ratface."

"I see! Then I have no choice but to teleport your brain out of your head so that we may ask it directly. Please, allow me—"

"Oh-kay, I think you need a break!" Kamilia-san grabbed Kuroko's shoulders and turned her away from their suspect. "Shirai-san, why don't you go into the office and put away the evidence, get updated by your colleagues? I'll talk to this hard-head and have enough information for Anti-Skill to solve this case within the hour."

"Are we playing good cop and bad cop now?" Kuroko sighed. But she did indeed have a lot to talk about with her colleagues, and the girl didn't seem very talkative. Maybe Kamilia-san would have more luck.

Kazari and Konori-senpai was on each their own computer, tapping away at the keyboard. None of them looked up when she entered the room. Kuroko put the evidence bags into a free storage box on their shelves before glancing at her two colleagues. Even if they were busy, it seemed unlikely they had failed to notice her entering the office by now. She gently cleared her throat. "Ah, Konori-senpai, did you find anything yet?"

"Uiharu, could you close the window? The wind is disturbing me." Konori-senpai's monotone voice hit her like a sledge. _That's so cold! _Kuroko shook her head, attempting to calm herself. _Konori-senpai is acting like this because her day at the sauna was interrupted. It's not like she truly hates me!_

"And please find the air freshener; something stinks in here."

"Guh—!" Kuroko's heart was slashed open like a jungle vine by a machete.

Kazari seemed to have kept the air freshener beside her computer for this very purpose, because she let out a bright "Haaaai!" and pushed the button one, two, three times (while still working the computer with the other hand).

Kuroko's shoulders slumped. There was no doubt what this cold treatment stemmed from. "I am… sorry for causing such trouble."

"What was that? Do we have mice in the walls?" Konori-senpai's glasses glinted.

"Urg…" Kuroko was not one to grovel at feet. Just apologizing was a major setback to her. She looked up at her senior with a near desperate look on her face. "What else could we have done? There was no other way to find that bot!"

"Did you find it?"

It took a moment before Kuroko realized Konori-senpai was talking to her, because she hadn't moved, and still stared at her computer screen without pause in her work. Yet the question was obviously directed at her.

"Eh?" That stupid remark was the only thing she got out at first try.

"Did you find the bot?" The question was repeated in a monotone voice that could not be mistaken as friendly.

"…we found the girl."

"Did you find the bot?"

"There is no need to find the bot when we have the girl!" It was like she was still a trainee under Konori-senpai's supervision (the last part was still true) who had to battle for her right to make any decisions on her own.

_SLAM_ – Konori-senpai put her hands on her desk with unnecessary force and stood up from the chair. Kuroko swallowed.

"Do you know…" her senior started, staring at her desk, "how much trouble you've caused? I've already had to send six different e-mails to explain the situation, which should be _your _job… and that's _before _the higher-ups have even involved themselves! You've made a disgrace of our branch!"

Kuroko felt sweaty. She tried her luck with a small smile, but it failed to come off as natural. "W-well, surely there are some softening circumstances with regards to the case in question…"

"Even if HQ miraculously ends up forgiving this, _I won't_!" Konori-senpai turned towards her with glinting eyes. "For the next two months, you'll be handling all of our paperwork!"

Kuroko's eyes widened in horror. "No way—!"

_Bang! _The door smacked open, revealing Kamilia-san with a huge grin on her face and completely oblivious to the atmosphere in the room. "Sorry, I couldn't make her say a word, and I tried everything short of sexual harassment —Wow, so this is the 177th Branch's office? It's almost the same as ours!"

Konori-senpai looked over at their guest and smiled. The transformation was like that of a lioness changing from ruthless hunter to caring mother. "Kamilia Amira from 27th Branch, was it?"

"Yep!" The girl beamed.

"Thank you for assisting my stupid junior in whatever trouble she got herself into."

"Oh, haha, that was nothing! It sure is a heck of a mess out there though!"

"You tell me." Konori-senpai agreed. Kuroko chose to ignore it and looked at Kamilia-san.

"No luck?"

"She just looked at the wall and yawned, like I wasn't even there. If we had a mind reader it'd be easy, but…" she shrugged. "I can only threaten to knock her out again, and that would just help her avoid getting questioned, so it fell through."

Damn it, after all this they get stopped by sheer stubbornness?

Konori-senpai spoke up. "We've got more than one problem at hand right now, and she's already here, so we'll let her ripen in the interview room for now."

Kuroko looked at her. "There's the All-Eating bot and the bot attack… is there more?"

"Not too long ago, Judgment's system was breached by an intruder." Konori-senpai looked over at Kazari, who were too busy to turn around and still sat at her computer staring intently at the screens.

"A hacking attempt?" Kuroko's eyes widened.

"We're not sure of the extent of their damages yet, nor the origin of the attack." Konori-senpai said. "Uiharu's still patching up the system after their mayhem."

Seemed like Uiharu had her work cut out for her.

"Is someone targeting us because of the bot search?"

"We think it might be because Uiharu was getting too close to tracking down the source of the disturbance in ITelligence's systems," Konori-senpai said. "Someone found us and launched an attack to keep us busy. I think the bot attack itself was a reaction to the code red, but there's no doubt the two events are connected."

Kuroko frowned. "You'd think ITelligence would have some emergency routines to follow in this case. It's not unthinkable that any system can be hacked." And that such a situation could rise from it was even more troubling. Hopefully the firm had been able to stop more bots from joining the chaos.

"From what I can tell, they've started shutting down communication with the bots, but that won't stop them from carrying out their last given order…" Konori-senpai looked worried. "Everything else has to wait. The biggest concern right now is the bot attack. I don't know exactly how they choose their targets, but on my way to the office I saw several students fighting with those things."

That was indeed worrisome. The bots shared a common database, so new targets could probably be distributed among them all within seconds. Though the bots did not possess deadly weapons, they could still cause injuries. Perhaps Judgment had been the main target, but anyone who'd try to stop them or were identified as hinders might get included on the target list.

"Well, I guess it's up to Anti-Skill now." Kamilia-san said unexpectedly. She looked pretty content with leaving the responsibility to someone else.

Kuroko huffed. "Now is hardly the time for us to sit down and twiddle our thumbs."

"But what can we do? It's not like we have a remote control to stop those bots with."

"Don't be ridiculous. To do something like that, we'd need the right signals and a large antenna, and we have neither."

"Do you think Misaka-san would be able to do something?" Konori-senpai looked thoughtful.

"Even if she could, we have no way of contacting her." And knowing that girl, she was probably already getting mixed up in the whole mess without their help. All the more reason to end this quickly.

"Oh right, it was her lost phone that started all of this, wasn't it?" Konori-senpai said.

Kamilia-san looked between them, seemingly confused. "A lost phone? Seriously? _That's _the cause of all this?"

"No, the cause of our _current _situation is due to one thoughtless idiot."

"Sometimes coincidences are the trigger to the discovery of a crime." Kuroko made it sound like it was all a good thing. "More importantly, what should our next move be?"

Konori-senpai pushed her glasses up on her nose, for a moment frighteningly resembling a certain dorm mistress. "Right now we need to offer our assistance in controlling the situation. Shirai-san, you and Kamilia-san head out and assist our colleagues and Anti-Skill. Uiharu and I will stay here and do more research on the case – I'll run a face scan on our guest as well and see if I can find her in the databank."

Kuroko nodded. There was no doubt the situation with the bots was the most pressing at the moment; as soon as that was taken care of, they could return their attention to the All-Eating bot and the girl they'd apprehended.

"According to the updates from Anti-Skill, the area needing more attention at the moment would be the plaza in front of Seventh Mist. There was a popular event taking place there, and a lot of people were hurt in the panic that broke out when the bots suddenly enraged."

"The maid show!" Kamilia-san gasped. "I completely forgot! My branch was stationed there as security personnel, but when the code red activated I ran off to find bots instead… That means the others might've—!"

XXX

In another part of town, a battleground between men and machines had formed.

"There's no fucking end to them!" A long-haired thug with a bruise near his jaw kicked a rabid cleaning bot aside and was immediately faced with two more. "Did they enter _aggro mode_ or something!?"

"Who the hell installs something like that in a _cleaning bot_?" Touma shouted back, dodging an attempted electrocution and knocking the bot over with a kick to the top of its head.

"Someone _fucked_!" _Wham_; another bot rolled over.

Just a bit farther off, a guy with striking blue hair grabbed the bottom of a bot. "Let's do a barrel roll!" Aogami Pierce looked like he was having fun as he easily toppled it over backwards.

"I'm surprised you cut off your date to come see the maid show, Kami-yan." Tsuchimikado, taking out another bot beside Touma, grinned crookedly behind his sunglasses.

"I told you it was no date."

"Boy and girl wandering together street-wise on a Saturday can't be anything but that, can it?" The guy in the Hawaii shirt looked so smug Touma was tempted to punch him.

"What's that?" Rambo the thug growled, looking eerily dangerous with his disheveled hair and bruised jaw. "A date? When?"

Touma would prefer not to elaborate on this misunderstanding, as he'd rather not end up in a situation where he'd have to punch the guy again.

"But isn't a rich-girl from Tokiwadai a bit too high level for a guy like you, Kami-yan?" Tsuchimikado said.

"I bet he stole something from her; that's why she'd cuffed him up!" Aogami contributed. They'd stepped right onto the land mine.

"You were on a fucking _date_ with Shirai-sama!?" Rambo, who seemed to have the ability to completely forget what he was doing and focus on something entirely useless, tried to charge at Touma. Not paying attention to his surroundings turned out to be hazardous however, when one of the cleaning bots rammed into him from the side and shocked him with one of those menacing stun guns. The thug cried out and collapsed, only to be covered in more bots as they advanced past his point of defense. Mercilessly rolling over his form, they looked like pre-programmed mechanic soldiers.

"That was rather awkward… you have some strange friends, Kami-yan."

"_You're one of them, you know._"

"Should we help him out? Those bots looks malicious…"

"There's too many of them!"

It seemed like the bots relayed to each other where they met resistance, as the first bots had called more bots, and the second wave called a third. They were now facing twenty or thirty of them, and even though they were easily knocked over, doing so without getting shocked in the process was becoming increasingly harder.

"F-fuck…" A low groan sounded from within the mass of bots threateningly waving their stun guns in their direction.

"He's still alive." Tsuchimikado grinned. That should be a given of course, since having cleaning bots equipped with weapons that could kill humans made no sense whatsoever. Even so, Touma found himself relieved.

"Just as long as they don't reach the stage we're fine, right?" Aogami Pierce said.

"Right!" Touma looked back briefly. Those who hadn't simply ran away when the chaos first broke out, had either gathered to try and fight the bots off, or escaped onto the stage where the maid show had taken place. As more and more bots appeared and the battle went on, more students were struck by their stun guns or injured in the panic when trying to escape them. The stage had ended up becoming a sort of sanctuary for those unable to escape, but if they wanted to the bots could easily traverse the ramp up onto it.

"Shit, even more of 'em… — no, is that…?" Tsuchimikado was looking in another direction. Another group of bots was rolling towards them from a street connecting to the plaza, but these looked slightly different. There were only four, but they looked sturdier than the trash can equivalent they were fighting.

"Security bots!" It was obvious that this was Anti-Skill's security bot system moving in. The four security bots looked menacing and confident in their movement, in a way only a bot can be. They approached the cleaning bots with their beeping voices:

"Beep, command acquired. Requesting cancellation of all current actions."

The cleaning bots answered in a monotone: "Beep. Negative. Override of objective has been disabled."

That they even had such an error message programmed into them seemed kind of strange, but it didn't stop the security bots from trying again. "Beep. Repeat message. Stop all actions."

"Beep. Negative. Target acquired: Prepare extermination."

The cleaning bots, apparently badly programmed for negotiations, turned immediately aggressive and several of their members turned onto their more sturdy-looking cousins, like wolves breaking out of the flock to take down a stray prey. The security bots easily handled them with their superior combat systems, but when the threat was deemed real enough, it seemed the barrel-shaped trash suckers decided numbers would be the key to victory. They all charged at the security bots at the same time, beeping their warnings and error messages like a mantra.

"What the hell is going on?" Touma was baffled, but it was not really a question. An outsider unfamiliar with the situation might have thought they'd stumbled right into a shooting of the next Transformers movie flick, but these bots were a far cry from those giant vehicle-transforming-to-cyborg machines. Even so, with the security bots on their side it didn't take long before the cleaning bots were all rendered harmless and the humans could finally breathe out. The security bots rolled on to patrol the plaza, and when looking over at the stage Touma saw two Anti-Skill vehicles and a handful of Anti-Skill officers hurrying to help the injured. So they had finally showed up.

Touma made his way over to Rambo the thug and looked down at him. "You okay?"

"Uuuh…" The thug groaned. "Please tell… Shirai-sama… I… bought the brown tape…"

"If you're trying to create a movie-like scene, at least give me something to work with." Touma sighed. "How am I supposed to say _'Don't be ridiculous! You'll tell her yourself, won't you?'_ with a straight face after that?"

"Fuck… you…"

"Huuh, I wish I had a girl to leave such a line for." Tsuchimikado fantasized, sitting on one of the fallen cleaning bots like a hunter posing for the camera after felling a lion, only with less impressive prey in this case.

"Why are you content with just one?" Aogami Pierce asked.

"Well, getting more than one can sometimes end up causing more problems than it's worth, don't you think?"

Aogami tsk-tsk'ed with a content smirk on his face. "According to a famous girl's magazine, there's a difference to being attracted to a person out of a sexual desire and the desire to live together as a couple. They say we look for different qualities in the people we'd like to reproduce with compared to the ones we'd like to spend our lives happily ever after with. Apparently it's the biggest reason why couples cheat on each other." He pumped his fist triumphantly. "That would mean having one for each purpose is perfectly natural!"

Touma wondered how 'natural' had found its way into Aogami's vocabulary.

"While that's somewhat interesting, it's even more intriguing how you know what a famous girl's magazine says on the topic." Tsuchimikado grinned.

"Oh, that's true." Touma looked at Aogami with a face as if he was apprehensive of him. "Don't tell me you're actually…"

"Ehwah!?"

"Oh, that'd explain a few things," Tsuchimikado grinned crookedly, "if you're actually like _that_, you'd be spouting all those things about girls all the time not to raise suspicion."

"Aah, right." Touma agreed, dark-faced. "Though it actually makes it more suspicious being so enthusiastic about it."

"Is this why he's so clingy at times as well?"

"Maybe he's got some kind of special _needs_…"

"It's a lie! I love girls! Melons, breads, all of it! I just happened to see that article in a magazine on one of the girl's desks in our classroom last week!"

"He's even got a cover story…"

"This is getting sadder and sadder."

Someone cleared their throat. "I wouldn't want to intrude, but is everything fine here as of now?"

The guys, who were pulled out of what seemed like an inappropriate conversation considering their circumstances, looked over and saw one long-haired and one short-haired Judgment girl looking back at them.

"Shirai-sama!" Apparently the voice of his idol Judgment girl was enough to revitalize Rambo, and he suddenly looked suspiciously refreshed.

"Judgment, eh." Tsuchimikado adjusted his sunglasses expertly. "Kami-yan, your date seems to have multiplied while you were gone."

"Date?" Kuroko's expression looked anything but amused. More like disbelieving to the point where Touma was unsure whether he should feel relieved or insulted.

"You guys are dating?" Kamilia-san asked, looking from Touma to Kuroko.

"We are not!" Instant denial. Touma wondered if it would be natural for him to feel like crying, because he didn't.

"Shirai-sama! I bought you ten rolls of brown tape just like you asked!" Rambo the thug was on his feet again, and had even produced the bag of tape rolls from somewhere nearby.

"Why would I ever want something like that?" Kuroko dismissed the topic entirely and addressed the other boys again. "We had reports this area needed attention, but it seems like you have it under control."

Touma sighed. "It was pretty tough until the security bots showed up though."

"Ah." She looked over at the group of bots strolling along the perimeters of the plaza like a military unit. "So Anti-Skill has deployed them."

"I guess they would, in these circumstances." Kamilia-san commented.

"Indeed, the risk of getting students mixed up in bot battles must have been deemed less of a threat than leaving the cleaning bots to their own devices."

"Hey!" Someone called out to them. Touma turned his head to see one of the students who'd fought the bots stomping over to them. Several of the others stood close by, looking equally as displeased. Some of them had scratches and burn marks on their hands.

"You really have the guts to show up here now?" The guy asked, glaring right at the two girls.

"We have come to assist in the situation." Kuroko said, looking more or less indifferent. "Are any of you hurt?"

He spat on the ground. "Isn't this all Judgment's fault to begin with? You guys started messing around with those bots, and then when they went crazy, you left us here to deal with them on our own!" He looked about ready to grab her by the neck and choke her, but Rambo the thug suddenly stepped in between them and blocked the way. "Hn?" The guy looked up at the thug with an angry glare. "What the hell is your problem?"

"What the fuck is _your_ problem?" Rambo growled back.

"You wanna fight or something?" The guy cracked his knuckles.

"Aah." Tsuchimikado grinned from his perch on the bot. "You sure about that? If you start something here you'll not only get in trouble with Judgment and Anti-Skill, but your state of health at that point can't be guaranteed."

The guy seemed to realize there were more people there at this point, and looked over them all as if judging their level of threat.

"Tsk." He looked unhappy, but must have lost interest in the discussion. At the very least he turned and walked off to his friends.

"What the heck's wrong with him?" Kamilia-san huffed.

"It is of no surprise." Kuroko figured. To them it may indeed have looked like Judgment was the cause of the bots' sudden revolt. And indirectly, it may even be true. In any case, there was no use arguing about it, as that would only serve to heighten their animosity. She glanced at Kamilia-san. "As for your colleagues, it seems they have wandered off somewhere."

"Jeez, God knows where they've gone." Kamilia-san rubbed her neck with an irritated expression on her face. "I guess they could have gone off to hunt cleaning bots on their own; they're just stupid enough to do something like that." The way she spoke of her fellow Judgment members like they were kindergartners gave her an arrogant vibe. But there were more important things to talk about.

"Is this in any way connected to the All-Eating bot?" Touma asked, looking at Kuroko.

"We apprehended a girl who seems to be in cahoots with the bad guys!" Kamilia-san cheerfully announced, causing her colleague's face to grow ashen.

"You're not supposed to tell civilians such important details right out of the blue!"

"Why not?" Kamilia-san looked puzzled. "Anti-Skill will probably solve this before we can get back to question her again either way."

"But the All-Eating bot is merely an urban legend, isn't it?" Touma asked. "If you haven't found proof of its existence yet, won't Anti-Skill simply treat this bot attack as an isolated incident?"

Kuroko sighed. "Yes, that is correct. The lesser aspect of an urban legend concerning a single bot will be neglected in the face of a large incident such as this. That is why our colleagues are working on uncovering more evidence as we speak." She gave Kamilia-san a sideways glare.

Kamilia-san didn't notice and merely agreed to what she said. "So that's how it is. While that bread-head refuses to speak, all we can do is run around here and keep the bots in check."

"Sounds like a hassle." Tsuchimikado stood up from the bot he was sitting on and grinned crookedly. "We might not be much help with the investigation, but we can at least help out with the assaulting bots problem, taking one worry off your back for now."

"Oh, that's great!" Kamilia-san beamed. Apparently she was much easier on letting civilians help then Kuroko, or maybe Judgment had just gotten desperate.

Kuroko's cell phone rang, and she answered it.

"Konori-senpai? What, Saten-san called?" Kuroko listened for a second, and then her eyes widened. "Someone who's controlling the bots—?"

"What, seriously?" Kamilia-san sounded as surprised as Touma felt.

"Got it, we'll be right over!" Kuroko grabbed Kamilia-san's arm and teleported away while still on the phone.

XXX

Just a few blocks down from the plaza was a rather popular arcade. It must have seemed a tempting refuge from the rain and the bots both, since there were a lot of people there. Kuroko and Kamilia-san appeared right outside the entrance after taking a shortcut over the rooftops.

"Guaah…" Kamilia-san leaned on the wall and gasped for air; she didn't take well to teleporting. There was no time to ask for her well-being however.

"Shirai-san!" Ruiko came over to them. She had been standing outside the arcade when they popped out of the air. "That was quick! I just called Uiharu a few minutes ago… Who is your friend?"

"Kamilia-san is a Judgment member." Kuroko made the introduction short.

Ruiko beamed at the pale-looking Kamilia-san. "Hey there! I'm Saten Ruiko!"

"H-hello…"

"Is the target still inside?" Kuroko asked, cutting to the chase.

"I haven't seen him leaving." Ruiko said. "I heard him talking on the phone with someone, and they seemed to be discussing where to send more bots, so I followed him here. But what if he's not…?" She must be worried she'd misheard and that they'd apprehend an innocent person. Kuroko wasn't planning on causing more trouble for them by doing something like that, but the chance that he was indeed involved was too great to ignore.

"We'll talk to him first. What does he look like?"

"Well, he's about this tall," Ruiko put her hand out somewhere at chest level. "And he's blonde, and he was carrying a green shoulder bag."

"How old…?" It didn't really matter, but she had to ask.

Ruiko looked unsure now. "Around ten, I guess. He looked like he's still in elementary." That was probably the reason for her doubting her own suspicions.

"How would a kid be involved in this?" Kamilia-san, who looked a bit better now, voiced their thoughts perfectly. But even if a kid's involvement was unlikely, Kuroko decided there was nothing to lose from a chat. It wasn't like they had a ton of options at the moment. When she said so, the others had no objections, though Kamilia-san looked like she wanted to protest.

So they entered the busy arcade filled with students. The atmosphere was tense; concerned, angry, indifferent and excited expressions in a tutti frutti mix. Almost every gaming booth was taken, but not everyone was playing – the clerks were probably occupied with other things than chasing them away right now.

"Everyone's wondering what's going on…" Kamilia-san looked around. Kuroko heard it as well in the bits and pieces of conversation she overheard; why did the bots go crazy, what's Anti-Skill doing, rumors about how Judgment chased the bots around and how that was what made them malfunction for some reason. Apparently different Academy City news sites had updated their front pages and urged everyone to stay inside until the situation was resolved. Here and there groups of people were discussing the lack of details as if it was all a conspiracy.

They made their way through the arcade without commenting any of it, on the lookout for someone fitting of Ruiko's description. Kuroko was just starting to think they might as well search for a shrimp in a school of fish when Ruiko grabbed her arm. "There he is!" She whispered intently, looking in a certain direction. Kuroko followed her gaze and saw a boy at one of the racing booths. He wasn't playing the racing game, but rather using the wheel of the booth as leg support while enjoying a handheld game. His blonde hair was wild and ruffled, and a green shoulder bag was leaned up against the seat of the racing booth.

"How cute, it's a tiny delinquent!" Kamilia-san unexpectedly had a captivated look in her eyes. Kuroko did not share her devotion, but then again no-one but her Onee-sama could activate her feelings of love. Feeling determined at the thought of her Onee-sama, she went right over to the racing booth and stopped beside the nonchalant boy.

"Enjoying your game, are you?"

The boy didn't even blink. "Sod off, ugly."

There was a miniature squeal from Kamilia-san, but Kuroko's expression remained stolid. Being called ugly by a ten year old didn't have a significant impact. "This is Judgment. We are investigating the cause of this situation and we have a few questions for you."

This made him glance at her, but only briefly. Having called her ugly just moments before, she wondered if he had even realized there were three of them. "You're investigating something you caused yourself? Sounds like a great idea." He was looking at his screen again, but Kuroko did not let his dismissive nature annoy her.

"You were observed communicating with someone about the bot attack. Do you mind telling me who you were talking to?"

He groaned. "God, what's _with_ you people? Can't you see I'm busy? Go bug someone else." He never stopped looking at the screen of his handheld. Upon closer inspection it looked like a smartphone. Kuroko touched it and teleported it into her hand.

"Hey, what the—!"

"You can spend your money on useless pay-to-enjoy games later. Please state your name and co-operate, or we'll have to take you in. You are hindering official Judgment work."

"Oh jeez, as if Judgment does anything worthwhile anyway," he sighed. "Okay, I'll answer your stupid questions. What do you want to know?"

Ruiko breathed out; apparently she'd been worried he'd keep resisting. Kuroko had no qualms about dealing with this one kid, but it was good that she didn't have to cause a scene inside the arcade. "First, show me your ID card."

"Don't have it." His immediate answer was completely uninterested.

"You are aware that not keeping your ID card at any time will be fined?" Kuroko asked.

"How are you gonna fine me without my ID, huuuh?" He grinned.

There were several ways to find his name without his ID card, but Kuroko knew that insisting would only make him less co-operative. She sighed. "I'll let it go this time. Just tell me your name and school."

"I'm Kotor. I don't like my school so I'm not gonna tell you."

Ignoring Kamilia-san's love-struck look, Kuroko decided to move along. She was getting the impression that this kid had been around someone he shouldn't for a long time, with how he spewed out what must be practiced lines one after the other. But in the end it was just the attitude of a brat.

"I suppose being straight to the point might as well be the shortest route. Do you have anything to do with the bot attack or those behind it?" She looked at him seriously.

"Why do you wanna know?" That was almost on par with confessing. Perhaps he noticed her expression, because he suddenly laughed weirdly. "Just kidding. You're investigating, wasn't that it? So am I a suspect or something? I'll have you know I'm below the legal age."

As if she'd mistake him for a high schooler. "It is duly noted. If you answer our questions without trouble there will be no need to involve your teacher. We are merely trying to track down the source of the crazy bots, and you were observed talking on the phone to someone about the next move for the bots. It is our duty to investigate further. Even if you are not involved and know nothing of the incident, the person you spoke to may be a different matter."

"Urgh, how annoying. If you really have to know, I was talking to my sister. She was going all crazy and I had to calm her down. She's almost as annoying as you are."

"What's her name?"

He shot a badly hidden glance out into the arcade, as if looking for backup. "She's got nothing to tell you."

"Oooh, he's _so _badass!" Kamilia-san squealed, pouncing forward and collecting him in a head lock.

"S-stop it!" He cried, but Kamilia-san started rubbing his head with her knuckles.

"Your acting is terrible!" She grinned. "Who the heck forced a kid like you to play the bad guy?"

Kuroko sighed. "Whoever it was must have been desperate to go to such lengths."

"Are you really the right person to say that, who activated the code red because of a lost cell phone?" Ruiko asked, grinning slyly.

"That was simply the natural order of things."

"Wait! Wai-wai-wai-wait!" Kamilia-san suddenly looked up at them, and looked like she was about to burst out laughing. "Are you telling me it's true that you started looking for that bot because of a lost cell phone?" It seemed she hadn't yet realized their true objective with finding the All-Eating bot. Perhaps she had joined for the fun of it.

"It was totally eaten by the All-Eating Bot!" Ruiko said enthusiastically. "I bet it'd never seen the rare Gekota phone before."

"You're still assuming the bot has a mind of its own, are you not?" Kuroko sighed. "Besides, if the perpetrators truly did know whose phone they've acquired, they would probably have pulled out and vanished already."

"Whose phone are we talking about anyway?" Kamilia-san asked. "I mean, why is it so important to find that you'd even go to such lengths?"

"It belongs to the Railgun, Misaka Mikoto!" Ruiko beamed.

Kamilia-san's face grew pale. "You're kidding!"

"Would I joke about that? Those Level 5's who's said can only be brought down by 50 specially trained Level 4's in oil suits can probably sense jokes a mile away. I wouldn't risk that!"

Kuroko sighed at the exaggeration, but it did have some effect. Kamilia-san stared at her; so did the kid. And _he_ suddenly started sniffing. "I-I'm sorry! I'm sorry, Kamilia-san!"

"Why are you apologizing to _me_!?"

"I didn't want to do it, but she said she'd burn all my Yu-Gi-Oh cards if I didn't listen!"

"What the hell!?"

"Who did?" Kuroko asked. The kid looked at her and sniffed; a far cry from his tough guy antics up to now.

"S-S…" he seemed to be having trouble deciding whether to say it or not. They watched him expectantly, and his eyes flickered between them, as if searching for guidance. Sweat drops appeared on his forehead. "If… if I tell, will you – will you let me go?"

Kamilia-san glomped him again. "No way, I'm not letting you go until you tell us everything you know~"

"Damn it!" He tried to push her away, but Kamilia-san easily grabbed his arms and locked them at his back. Then she pushed him into the racing booth so that his cheek was pressing against the wheel. "Ow ow ow!" He wailed and tried to fight her off, but she was the stronger one.

Kuroko was about to ask her to stop, when someone else suddenly grabbed Kamilia's arm. One of the students by the other racing booths had finally decided to step in as a responsible citizen after seeing the kid being treated like that (but not before finishing his racing game with his friends – maybe he'd lost a bet).

"What the hell are you doing? He's just a kid!"

"It's okay," Kamilia-san said, pushing the boy's head into the wheel with a smile. "We're Judgment."

The guy glared at her with an equal amount of disgust and disbelief, letting his hand fall. "Judgment? Treating a kid like this?"

Kuroko sighed. They didn't need more trouble than they already had, and this had gone on long enough. "It is indeed a step to the side from normal procedures. Kamilia-san—"

"Do you have a problem with how we do our job?" Kamilia-san suddenly asked, glaring back at the student. "If you don't like it, why don't you do something about it, hm?"

Kuroko felt a pang in her chest. Why was she baiting them like that? The guy seemed angry and unsure at once. Perhaps he didn't know whether to believe they were truly from Judgment, and at the same time feared there'd be repercussions if he interfered. He glanced back at Rambo the thug and the boy hanging from his grasp, crying openly. Then his teeth gritted.

"If you're really Judgment, shouldn't you be stopping those crazy bots instead of assaulting kids in here?"

"That is exactly what we're trying to do." Kamilia-san answered coolly. "If you hadn't interfered, we may already have gotten the answers needed to stop this by now. Or are you perhaps trying to hinder him from giving us information?"

The guy flinched, and finally seemed to acknowledge the situation as something beyond his control. "Damn, this is all Judgment's fault to begin with, isn't it?" He muttered as he turned to leave, and left behind a wake of whispers from other students nearby.

"Should you just let him go like that?" Ruiko asked worriedly.

"He has nothing to do with this," Kuroko said. She glanced at Kamilia-san. "Even so, taunting him like that…"

"Aaah, I just can't stand people interrupting our work." Kamilia-san sighed. "Sorry, but I really want to solve this case as fast as possible."

"That's no excuse for causing us even more trouble by being too rash." Kuroko was used to dealing with another rash person, but with Mikoto she was usually more concerned about her targets than the girl herself.

"He interrupted our work though." Kamilia-san said.

He was actually just coming over to ask what was going on when he saw a kid being manhandled rather roughly, and thus was more of a responsible student than a troublemaker. But Kuroko did not get the chance to say more, because at that moment the arcade was filled with screams and yells. People started shoving their way through the crowd, and everyone seemed to pull away from the entrance.

"What the heck?" Even Kamilia-san seemed to lose interest in the topic for the moment and looked over. The throng of people was too thick and chaotic to see through however. Kuroko teleported on top of the racing booth to see over the crowd, and what she saw made her chest sting.

"Cleaning bots!?" There were a lot – at least a dozen – of the barrel-shaped bots, and they were whizzing through the groups of people brandishing their electroshock weapons like they were hunting for flies.

"In _here_? I didn't know they were smart enough to enter buildings!" Kamilia-san looked surprised.

Normally they wouldn't, but it seemed like someone was telling them how to. Kuroko had to take action now or a lot of people would get hurt. "Kamilia-san, please keep Saten-san and the boy out of danger!"

"Roger!"

Kuroko had an idea. It might not be much, but it was a lead. She quickly pulled out her phone and dialed Uiharu.

"Shirai-san?"

"Uiharu, how do ITelligence control the bots throughout the city?"

"Um, well… the program runs on their servers, and they have various transmitters around town in order to send the signals around."

"So that means someone else could use those transmitters to manipulate the bots' actions?"

"You mean without using ITelligence's servers? Well… ITelligence has already shut down their transmitters, and even if they hadn't you'd need the right connections and firewall openings. But…"

The 'but' left a whole lot hanging in the air. "But what?"

"Well, I thought about what you said earlier, about having the right signals and a large antenna. If the intruder to ITelligence's systems actually got their hands on vital software, and runs it from a different server…" it sounded like she'd given this some thought, so Kuroko waited for her to continue. "A different server outside ITelligence's systems wouldn't be granted access to communicate with the transmitters, but if something else was used in their place…"

"You mean some kind of giant antenna?" But really, where would they find that?

"Normally they wouldn't have access to something like that. But instead of one large antenna, they could do it like ITelligence and have several small ones."

"Small antennas acting like transmitters? You don't mean—" Kuroko looked at the device she was holding in her hand.

"It might be possible to program cell phones to act like transmitters."

Kamilia-san, Ruiko and the boy had taken refuge on the racing booth. It looked like they were doing okay for now, but the same couldn't be said of everyone else in the arcade. Kuroko took a closer look at the smartphone she had confiscated from the boy. It didn't have to mean she could do anything. Someone might be giving the orders from elsewhere, merely using the phones as transmitters and nothing more. But she couldn't assume that without checking. _It's my only shot_.

XXX

Touma's situation was now a dire one.

Until barely a minute ago he had been following a stray cleaning bot in order to take it out before it could hunt down the girl it was chasing. Out of nowhere, the bot had called upon its brethren to help take out its pursuer, and Touma had been assaulted by their stinging stun guns and merciless wheels. That was history however, and now Touma was sitting on the wet ground, staring up with a frightened expression on his face. Above him stood two girls, one with a cannibalistic look on her face, the other with pale sparks emitting from her forehead. Around them stood several unmoving cleaning bots. Naturally, they were the bots who just seconds ago had been hell bent on making his life as miserable as possible, and who were now out of commission due to a sudden lightning strike.

He would have preferred the bots, honestly.

"I _thought _I saw an idiot in the slumps," the sparkly girl said, and put one hand on her waist with a crooked grin on her face. "How lucky for you the great Misaka Mikoto was close by to save you." He cringed at her spearing glare, which despite her grin carried a lot of grudge. Perhaps she thought it infuriating that he was so helpless with the bots when he could simply bat her lightning strikes aside, but Touma felt he could not be blamed for things being like that.

"Toumaaa!" The other girl stomped forward, and he gulped. Index looked like she didn't know whether to cry or scream, and her face was completely red. Unlike the sparkly girl, Index may actually have grounds to be angry. He had left this morning on the premise of buying them some food, only to get caught up in this mess. He'd forgotten all about calling her too. So now he had the honor of choosing between being bitten to death or electrocuted?

"This is just the kind of luck this Kamijou-san has…"

"You better stop sighing and start explaining." Mikoto said. "You probably know what's going on, so spit it out!"

"Ah, well…" he wasn't sure where to start. "For one, the cleaning bots are running wild…"

"I can see that! I want to know _why_!"

He sweat-dropped. _What else does she want me to say? _That she was asking him in the first place must mean she was pretty much out of the loop, but he was hardly tempted to inform about the cause behind all this. Besides, they still had no proof of anything as far as he knew.

"More importantly, I want to know where my food is." Index pouted.

"You just ate a whole buffet; don't tell me you're still hungry!" Mikoto looked rather shocked.

"But Touma was going to buy food for us! And TOUMA!" She suddenly glared at Touma as if he was guilty for walking in on her in the shower. "You lied to me about buffets! They DO exist!"

Touma wanted to accuse Mikoto of ruining his entire economy, since now that Index knew about those things she would be demanding they visit one at least once a week.

"You got trouble here, spiky-ass?" The interruption came from Rambo the thug who decided to pick this moment to come sauntering towards them. He had his hands stuffed into his pants and a perfectly thug-like look on his face; the bruise displayed like a battle scar. Touma found he was actually glad to see him right now. Wait— _Spiky-ass_?

The thug looked at Touma with a smirk. "Don't tell me you're getting bullied by _kids_."

There was no time to warn him, as the reaction was pretty much instantaneous. _Wham!; Bzzt!_ With the sound effects of a Marvel comic, the thug was suddenly knocked off his feet by a flying torpedo in a nun's habit and a fierce electric charge belonging in a power line marked with dozens of 'Warning! Hazardous!' signs. He must have already realized his mistake by the time he hit the ground. That is, if it was possible for his human mind to comprehend what had just happened.

"Urrh…?"

"Touma, is this your friend?" After using her head like a battering ram, Index turned on Touma with a cute smile and a frightening glare. Touma raised his hands as if to say, _I didn't do anything!_, when in fact befriending someone new is rarely considered as something you need to apologize for.

Mikoto huffed. Touma thought she looked a bit too careless, as if she didn't even realize she had just attacked a random person on the street. "If he's your friend, shouldn't you properly introduce him?"

Touma could not stay silent at that. "Introducing someone while they lie flat on the ground knocked out by the very person they are supposed to get introduced to, is just wrong!"

"Don't be so stingy!"

"He might have suffered permanent damage from your attack just now! No human being can take a high-voltage attack to their brain and come off unscathed!"

"I made sure to hold back!"

Indeed, Rambo the thug was already getting back to his feet, defeating Touma's hopeless attempt at rectifying the violent girl. He stood; surprisingly steady, so the attack couldn't have been that serious after all. The thug addressed Mikoto when he next spoke.

"You want to know who I am, huh… But before I answer something like that (as if it's a big deal); who the hell are _you_!?" He pointed at her like a prosecutor in court.

"Eh?" Mikoto blinked, as if being asked to introduce herself was completely unexpected.

"Who are you to fucking knock me down like that? I should punch your teeth out!" Seems like if they weren't in Judgment, even strong girls weren't enough to woe this thug.

"I'm not even the one who knocked you down!" She protested, as if merely electrifying someone was perfectly fine.

"I don't fucking care! You're wearing a respectable uniform like that, but you're no more than a disgrace to girls like Shirai-sama who works hard to ensure the safety of other students!"

Mikoto looked shocked. "Sh-Shirai-_sama_? And what does Kuroko have to do with this anyway?"

"Don't think I'll ignore it just because you're a fucking esper!"

"Oh yeah? You wanna fight, is that it?" She ground her fist into her other hand, looking more than ready to take him on. This duo seemed like a bad match, and Touma wondered if he should warn everyone in the vicinity to flee before things got serious.

"Okay, fine, let's stop before someone gets hurt." For some reason, Index suddenly stepped in between the two. She sighed like a mother having to break up her kids when playing a bit too rough. "Long-haired guy, apologize to short-hair for calling her a kid. Short-hair, apologize to long-hair for knocking him down."

"_You're_ the one who—" Mikoto started, but –

"Then what, you want me to call her a brat instead?" It sounded like he meant he had been considerate by calling them kids, but Touma was quite sure he'd just heard Mikoto's brain crack open. Rambo did not notice, obviously, and merely continued to talk. "You asked me who I am, so let me introduce myself." He smacked a hand to his chest. "I am Rambo the Destroyer!"

Both Touma and Mikoto stared at him in disbelief; it seemed like even Mikoto's rage was blown away. _At least he didn't say 'Conan the Barbarian'…_ Touma thought he'd have been fried just for being too cliché.

"And who the fuck are you?" Rambo the Destroyer asked of the Tokiwadai student. "How do you know Shirai-sama?"

"Wh—I should be asking that! Did Kuroko arrest you during Judgment work or something?"

"I have no obligation to talk to someone who won't even tell their name!"

"Ack – I'm Misaka Mikoto! I'm her roommate, so don't tell me you're going to visit—" She got no further before Rambo seemingly rocketed past Index and grabbed Mikoto's hand. Leaning down over her like that, it looked like he was about to kiss her – which is probably why Mikoto's face exploded into red. "W-w-wha—?"

"Her fucking roommate?" Rambo asked, seriously.

"J-just her normal roommate…" Mikoto stammered, trying to lean further away.

Rambo leaned closer, like an eager kid. "Tell me her weak spots!"

"W-weak spots? What are you planning to do to her?"

"More like, why is that the first question you'd ask of her roommate?" Touma asked.

"Female roommates know everything about each other!" Rambo straightened up while declaring something he couldn't possibly back up in any scientific way even if it happened to be true. "I'll win her over using the secret knowledge only her roommate has access to! If I'm not worthy of Shirai-sama's attention yet, I'll do whatever it takes to get there! I'll polish her shoes, iron her uniform, walk her to school, comb her hair, wash her back, cut her nails, brush her teeth, change her clothes—there's nothing I wouldn't do for the ultimate woman!" He turned on Mikoto, eyes burning with determination. "Any information you have!"

Mikoto looked disturbed, and Touma couldn't blame her. "Uuh, well, it's not like I have much…"

"I'll pay for it!"

"Are you insane?"

"And if you have any (dirty) pictures of her I'll buy those too!" This was starting to sound desperate.

"I don't make it a habit to carry around pictures of my friends like that!" She protested with a red face. "Anyway, my phone is gone, so any pictures I might have had are gone too!"

These words seemed to pierce Rambo's brain through the veil of scary thoughts harnessed in there, as he paused for a second. "Your cell phone?" Touma could swear he saw the wheels turning in his brain. Would he be able to piece together the clues?

"Then that means…" Rambo suddenly looked at Touma with a fierce glare. "If we find her cell phone, I'd be able to get pictures!"

"There are no pictures!"

"Then after I find it, I'll trade you the phone for all the information you have!"

"Ugh…?"

It seemed like Mikoto had become too confused and flustered to continue the discussion. Rambo strode over to Touma and pulled him up by his collar like he was a rag. "Don't worry, Shirai-sama's roommate! We'll find your cell phone in a flash!"

"If it was that easy I'd already have done it myself. Hey, are you listening?" She yelled after them when Rambo took off down the street, but the thug didn't even throw her another look.

"Don't worry Index-san; I'll be sure to bring back food for supper!" Touma called as he followed the thug. Not because he necessarily wanted to join him, but because it was an excellent excuse for getting away from those demonized girls. Besides, the guy was still holding his collar.

"Wait!" Index made to run after the guys, but tripped on her own feet and landed on her hands and knees on the ground. "Urrg…"

"Well, that was strange." Mikoto commented, looking after the boys as they disappeared around a corner. Then she looked down at Index and her pained expression. "Are you all right?"

"Guuh…" The girl in the nun habit groaned, clutching her stomach.

"Don't tell me you're having a stomach-ache? No wonder after all that food you ate." The waiter at the restaurant had thanked them suspiciously much when they left.

"But… it was free…"

"6000 yen for two people isn't exactly free, but I suppose I was the one who invited you."

"It's all your fault, short-hair!"

"Don't blame me for your bottomless stomach!"

But the girl didn't seem interested in hearing, and even the cat hissed.

Mikoto sighed. She wanted to follow those guys and make them tell her what was going on, but leaving the girl behind like this was out of the question, and she didn't really want to come face to face with that guy again anyway. Seems like there was only one viable option that would allow her to collect some information and at the same time give the nun-girl the chance to lie down.

XXX

"So the phone actually can control the bots?"

At Judgment 177th Branch, Kuroko and Kamilia-san, together with Ruiko and the boy, had just gotten back. The boy had been completely silent since they left the arcade, and they placed him on the sofa in the main office. His cell phone was currently the object of interest to everyone but him.

"I was able to use it to stop the bots in the arcade." Kuroko said. "It seems like whoever is behind this has been planning it for a long time." Upon inspecting the phone she had found a program that allowed her to insert commands, and it was easy enough to grasp after a few tries. The group of bots invading the arcade had eventually shut down at her command.

"That means shutting down ITelligence's system won't help us in regaining control of the situation." Konori-senpai said, looking worried. "Wait, they didn't put this out as an app for anyone to download?" She suddenly looked alarmed, but Kazari was able to calm her nerves at once.

"No worries, I already checked. It seems like it's been installed by connecting the phone to a computer with the software."

"That's a relief, and it also means our guest here must have something more to tell us." Konori-senpai looked over at the boy, who sat staring at the table while trying to attract as little attention to himself as possible. Ever since they left the arcade his tough guy attitude seemed to have fallen through.

"So, after we find that Level 5 phone or whatever…" Kamilia-san looked bored already. "What are we gonna do then?"

"Obviously we have to get to the bottom of this." Konori-senpai said. "Whoever is behind this must be stopped. And making him talk ought to be one of our priorities."

Kamilia-san sighed, but then she looked to regain some of her spirit and made a salute. "Leave it to me!" And she marched off towards the sofa.

"Saten-san, would you please assist Kamilia-san so that she doesn't end up knocking him out cold?" Kuroko asked.

"Sure…" She looked apprehensive, but Ruiko willingly accepted the task. Kuroko looked back at Konori-senpai, and noticed several open websites and underground forums on her computer screen.

"Speaking of telling things, do we have any new leads on 'the Zoo' yet?"

"Nothing so far." Konori-senpai sighed. "I've asked around the different forums, but no-one seems to have heard of anything like that."

"Seems like our only choice is to ask her directly." Kuroko said, referring to the girl currently kept in their interview room. "How is she?"

"She's just been lying in the sofa since you guys left." Konori-senpai glanced at the screen showing a camera feed of their interview room; the girl still lay on the sofa where they had left her.

"Let's pay her a visit then."

"What about the boy?" Konori-senpai asked, looking over at the sofa corner of the office where Ruiko was trying to bribe the kid with cookies and tea. He didn't look that interested.

"He is probably a scape goat." Kuroko offered. "If we compare what information the girl can give us to his testimony later, we may be able to extract some more clues. Assuming we can trust what they say."

Konori-senpai hmm'ed. "You'd have to be pretty cold-headed to be able to lie under these circumstances." That was true. The boy had already shown willingness to talk when confronted earlier. Most likely, he would simply stay quiet if he had nothing he wanted to tell them, rather than try and lie.

Was the same true for that girl?

Kuroko and Konori-senpai went to the interview room, leaving Kamilia-san and Ruiko to try and pry some words out of the boy. Since he'd suddenly addressed Kamilia-san earlier, chances were he'd be more willing to talk to her than any of the others.

_If the girl won't talk initially, she might be more cooperative once we mention the boy_, Kuroko thought. There was no doubt they'd be able to get more information about this incident one way or another as long as they had those two.

Which is why, when Konori-senpai opened the door to the interview room and they were left staring at a very empty room apart from three pieces of a neatly cut pair of handcuffs on the floor, it would suffice to say they were both stumped.

Konori-senpai was the first to recover. "The camera feed—!"

"I'll check it again!" Kuroko hurriedly went back to the office. _How could this happen?_ She felt a slight urgency when she checked the camera feed again, only to have it still showing her the image of a sleeping, breathing girl. _A video loop? But the clock is still correct_._ If it was a normal loop, the clock would be looping as well._

"What's up? Weren't you going to question the girl?" Ruiko asked, having noticed Kuroko's sudden re-entry.

"She's not here." Kuroko couldn't explain it any better.

"What? Did she get out of the room? But isn't that locked…?" Ruiko looked as surprised as Kuroko felt.

"That's why she shouldn't have been able to leave." Kuroko said. "She might have been able to get out of the handcuffs using her own ability, but the camera feed should still have given her away. Uiharu, what do you think?"

"It might be the work of an esper." Kazari said after inspecting the computer that monitored their cameras. It took her but a few keystrokes to reset the system, and the camera suddenly showed the empty room like it truly was.

Kuroko agreed with her companion. It was unthinkable that someone had manipulated their systems without Uiharu noticing, but if it had been done by an esper there was no saying a small software manipulation in one of their cameras couldn't possibly be overlooked. No system is absolutely secure, and in a city where 80% of the inhabitants possessed some kind of supernatural ability, there was nothing one could do to completely secure a system from outside interference without placing it on a completely secluded LAN and power supply in a closed-off building. Still, the number of students able to manipulate a computer with such high security as the Judgment system was rather limited.

"It must be someone of high level, right?" Kamilia-san asked thoughtfully.

Too high. Kuroko frowned. The only one she could think of that could use her ability to do something like this was Mikoto, and there was no way she was behind it.

"Or they know our system very well." Konori-senpai said, returning to her desk. "Whoever helped the girl escape also unlocked the door to the room. The window was still closed." She put the pieces of the handcuffs on her desk. "If anyone tried to use brute force to manipulate our system like that, Uiharu's defense systems would have noticed. However if they know our system well enough to bypass even those traps, it would make sense."

"But who would know our system well enough to do something like that?" Kuroko asked.

Konori-senpai looked nearly grave. "Someone who's worked a lot with the system. Possibly in a position similar to Uiharu's."

"You don't mean…" Kazari looked shell-shocked; Konori-senpai nodded.

"A Judgment member, or someone with the same knowledge about our system. But there aren't many members working as closely with the system as Uiharu is today, and none of which I can imagine doing something like this." A current member doing something like this would have trouble staying hidden for very long too.

"So we're looking at a former member or someone who might have gathered their information from a current member?" Kuroko asked.

"Most likely the former, I'd think. This kind of knowledge isn't common amongst regular members."

Kuroko looked over at their resident computer expert. "Uiharu, did you ever manage to track down the origin of the attack on our systems?"

Kazari looked pale. "The trace seemed to disappear at one point; most likely they disconnected from the system after causing the initial manipulation."

Kuroko, one hand on her chin, tried to think it through. Disconnecting after causing the initial mayhem would certainly be the safest route for whoever was behind this, so that may be what had happened. Or… "If the ones behind it weren't from the outside at all…"

Konori-senpai looked at her. "You mean someone at ITelligence might have caused this?"

"Someone with enough knowledge about both ITelligence's system and Judgment's system. Does someone like that exist?" Kuroko aired the question with no idea whether it could be correct.

But Kazari's eyes suddenly lit up. "Ah!"

"Well, it would explain why the bots are still out of control at this point." Konori-senpai said thoughtfully. "If someone on the inside is deliberately working against restoring control…" She frowned. "Could we use the student databases to check for anyone matching that of knowing both the ITelligence system and the Judgment system?" She turned toward Kazari, who was already typing on her keyboard.

"There is in fact – I recognized the name, but it never occurred to me…" Kazari's eyes were glued to her screen. "Here it is! Ichaicha Merino, a Level 2 Telekinetic. A former Judgment member who was employed at ITelligence after graduating from University. His name came up earlier and I thought I'd heard it before." She turned towards them. "He was in charge of administering the databases during his last year in Judgment. When I took over the task, he was the one who showed me the ropes."

"Oh, right. _Him_." Judging from Konori-senpai's facial expression or lack thereof, she was not too enthralled at his memory. "How did his name come up?"

"He's one of the technicians at ITelligence working with restoring the system."

In other words, he was in a perfect position to control the entire situation.

"Simply accusing him of being the culprit here is too straight-forward." Konori-senpai said, putting a hand to her chin. "Do we have any other indications it might be him?"

"Not that I know of…"

"How about him?" Konori-senpai looked over at the boy they had apprehended in the arcade. "Could he know anything else?"

"No good," Kamilia-san sighed, shaking her head. "He just keeps staring at the table and won't say a word."

Indeed, it did seem like the boy was doing a valiant job of ignoring all of Ruiko's attempts at a conversation, even when tempted by cookies and tea.

"What's his name?" Konori-senpai asked of Kamilia-san.

"His student card says 'Nobuhiro Kasira'. He's a grade schooler in his second to last year." So he did have an ID card after all, and he even gave them a fake name earlier.

"He did mention someone threatening him into taking the blame." Kuroko said. "Could it have been Ichaicha-san?"

"Hmm." Konori-senpai lowered her gaze, looking thoughtful. "I can't really imagine Ichaicha being part of any of this, to be honest."

"You know him?"

"I guess you could say we're acquaintances. We met at some Judgment gatherings in the past. I don't know him personally, and he came off as somewhat of a womanizer, but to be entrusted with the Judgment databases he can't have been just anyone."

That was true. Kazari herself had not been appointed to the task until showing exceptional skill at handling the system during a certain incident at the beginning of the school year. Apparently there were also quite a few procedures involved before gaining the final approval, as the job involved having access to sensitive data.

She looked over at Kazari's screen, at the picture of a handsome guy. Could a guy with a face like that be the culprit in such a case? Was there a deeper meaning behind that smirk? _Well, luckily we don't base our theories on facial expressions in pictures from the database._

"Though he would most likely know the Judgment system like the back of his hand, he must also know just how serious a crime it is considered to break into Judgment's systems." Konori-senpai reasoned.

"It all comes down to whether he has a motive or not then." Kuroko said.

"I suppose."

Kamilia-san sighed tiredly. "Man, you guys are so complicated. First it's this, then that. You really think this guy is behind the cleaning bot incident and the escape of that girl?"

Kuroko didn't know what to think, if she were to be honest. But the fact that the traces of the hacker seemed to disappear in thin air within ITelligence's system could only indicate so many things. Either the culprit had somehow wiped out his entry to the system, or he never entered from the outside in the first place.

"If the culprit is indeed on the inside of the system, it'll be much easier for him to cloak his traces. He could even route his attack via other sources to make it look like an outside attack."

"They did do that." Kazari commented. "When it looked like his attack might be coming from near the plaza, Saten-san went out to search."

And then Ruiko found the boy? Kuroko frowned. Was it a diversion? In either case, when the facts were what they were, and they even had a guy that fit the description they were looking for, was there any reason to hesitate?

Kamilia-san sighed again, even deeper. "If you're so sure, can't we just go there and ask him?"

"Assuming they'd let us at this point in time, when they're busy trying to fix their systems." Konori-senpai said. "We don't have enough proof to arrest him, and we'd have to go through Anti-Skill to get a warrant."

"Boooring."

Kuroko wanted to go there as well and question him directly, but Konori-senpai continued before she could voice her opinion: "If we base our suspicion on him being a former Judgment member, going there as Judgment without a warrant and without solid proof will only serve to damage the reputation of the organization." While saying something that made her sound like a movie villain, she looked up at them with a serious look on her face. "And what if we're right?"

"If we're right, that's fine, isn't it…?" Kuroko started, but then she realized what she meant, and her eyes widened slightly. "If a former Judgment member is doing something like this, Anti-Skill might be forced to conduct a full investigation of Judgment!"

Konori-senpai nodded, arms folded. "No matter the outcome, Judgment would not be the same afterwards. If the public learns that Judgment is being investigated, the level of trust will drop. In worst case, Judgment in its entirety might be disbanded, or at the very least be changed to try and prevent something like this from happening again. Even if a possible investigation is not made public, rumors will still spread, and members in Judgment will still know the truth. Will we be able to trust each other?"

"I never thought of it that way…" Kazari looked worried. Naturally, since her own position in Judgment would receive particular attention in such an event.

"This is assuming the worst case scenario will happen, but it's still a fact that depending on what we find out about Ichaicha's involvement may have infringements on ourselves." Konori-senpai closed her eyes briefly and drew a small breath. "And one more thing…"

They all looked at her now, even Ruiko and the boy, as if enthralled by a siren.

"Whoever's behind this is not alone. If Ichaicha is part of this, we cannot dismiss the possibility that other Judgment members, current or former, are also involved."

Kuroko felt an unpleasant chill in her chest. She couldn't say the thought hadn't struck her before now, but when it was said out loud like that, in conjunction to the other things Konori-senpai had just laid out for them, it seemed somehow real.

But… Kuroko clenched her hands.

"Even if it may have consequences for Judgment as a whole, we cannot let a clue like this go unchecked." If Ichaicha really was behind this, Kuroko wanted to expose him out of pure principle. "Besides, if Judgment really is full of people with this kind of mindset, perhaps a change is just what we need. We should solve this case no matter the consequences!"

Konori-senpai looked at her and gave a small smile. "That's another way to look at it. I agree with you." She leaned back into her chair and sighed. "But barging right in there without any evidence whatsoever won't help us in the slightest." She glanced over at the broken handcuffs which she had deposited on her desk.

Kuroko understood at once. "Ah… the girl." She had almost forgotten her for a moment.

"We have her face and we know she's an esper capable of cutting through handcuffs at the very least. Based on that information, Uiharu should be able to find her in the databases." Konori-senpai looked over at the flowery-headed girl.

"Right-o!" Kazari cheered, and turned around.

"Do we even need to find her now that we've got this guy and that Ichaicha?" Kamilia-san asked. She looked impatient, as if the only thing she wanted to do was to barge into ITelligence and confront their programmers. Kuroko didn't blame her, but Konori-senpai had a point.

"If we can find a connection between her and Ichaicha, we might discover more about a possible motive." She said. If done correctly from their side, they could manage to catch the culprits without having the entire Judgment put in the searchlight. That is, if they couldn't prove Ichaicha's innocence instead.

"I don't get this at all, but if you really think it'll help…" Kamilia-san rubbed her neck, looking defeated. "I guess we can't just assume he's the bad guy either though."

"Oh, I got some hits!" Kazari announced, sounding eager. "There are three profiles matching our search criteria, with their photos having above 90% match rate with our picture."

"Let me see." Kuroko went over to Kazari just when the lights in the ceiling went out. She blinked at the sudden darkness when the only light source became the windows on the wall. "Eh?"

"No way!" Kazari stared at the black screens in front of her. The server had abruptly shut down.

"A power outage?" Kamilia-san said, looking up at the lights in surprise.

* * *

><p>Hey!<p>

Long time no see. Indeed. Too long. I've been active in my Railgun-fan-girl'ing and writing stories and all, but things just halted for this one. Anyway, I figured this chapter would never get any better/longer/shorter/worse by merely laying in my hard disk. So I posted it. The plan was to wait until the story was completely finished, but alas, that did not happen after all. I will continue to work on this story, but I don't know how fast or how long it'll take to finish it. Don't hold your breath!

For something entirely different; Anyone loving the second season here? I can't get enough of Mikoto in her terrorist outfit, honestly! But it'll be good to see the other girls again now. Sister's arc really is heavy stuff.

And if anyone reads the manga, I just saw chapter 61 in Chinese. It... blew my mind to Saturn. GIVE ME THAT CHAPTER ANIMATED NOW!


	6. Chapter 6: The Hunted

**The Hunted**

Using a common phrase like "It was pouring cats and dogs" wouldn't do the weather any justice, and Touma was sure the phrase would be somehow misunderstood by a certain nun-girl and result in his fair skin being covered with misfortunate bite marks. He was not poetic enough to come up with another metaphor though. Therefore, he settled with a more straight-forward description: It was raining. _A lot._

One moment there had been a light drizzle in the air, and the next the water slammed into the earth below like someone had ordered a bombing assault on the city. Everyone ran for cover while shielding their heads with whatever they had within reach, be it laptops or their date's umbrella. The guy with previously spiky, now drooping hair, was one of them. He had nothing to shield his head with, and even if he did it would have made little difference. Touma wondered if this was retribution for having blatantly escaped his responsibilities just moments earlier, and the unfairness of it all made him want to cry. He and Rambo found cover under a sunshade sticking out over the entrance of a cafeteria, but they were already soaked through. Touma stood facing the street where rivers of rainwater had started streaming along the pavement, working on catching his breath.

"Man, that came out of nowhere!" Rambo looked up at the sky while wringing water out of his ponytail. Touma didn't waste his precious remaining energy on raising his eyes that much. It couldn't be that different from the ground, and if the sun miraculously came back he was sure he'd notice.

"Now what? We're not gonna find shit in this kind of weather!" Rambo looked annoyed, as if he thought someone should have prevented this.

Touma only thought the weather added more discomfort than being a real obstacle. They didn't even know where to look in the first place, so a little bad weather hardly made a difference.

He looked at the thug tiredly. "Just checking, but… you _have _realized that the phone we're looking for in the first place is the same phone that Misaka is missing, right?" He just had to ask to be safe. The thug had run off so quickly back there at the mention of a lost phone that may or may not contain sacred images of his idol Judgment girl, that it was hard to tell what exactly was driving him. But since he hadn't asked for its location, he must have realized it's the same one, right?

Rambo the thug stared at him. One second, two seconds, three seconds. When there was still no other reaction, Touma's heart fell heavily to his gut. How the heck was he planning to find it?

A bell sounded behind them, and a couple of students stuck their heads out of the cafeteria's front doors.

"Man, it's really coming down!"

"I was going to meet some friends at the arcade too…"

"You can't go out there now anyway, I heard someone say the bots are still running crazy." The students pulled back inside with their chatter, but not before allowing a whiff of scent out from the building. Touma's stomach growled.

He looked at Rambo with a pleading gaze, humiliated at having to sink this low. "Hey, do you mind sharing some of that change you have?"

XXX

"Was it really good for them to leave?" Saten-san looked out the windows of the office. The rain was falling heavily outside, clattering against the windows. The office was still unpowered, and the only light came from the grey skies outside. It made it feel like they were stuck in a cabin in the woods, far from the eyes of civilization.

The miniature delinquent they had picked up earlier sat tucked in a corner of the sofa with a frown on his face. Kazari and Konori-senpai had joined him and Saten-san in the corner where the sofa stood, since there wasn't much they could do without power. It didn't look like the boy enjoyed having Kazari beside him, but she merely countered his displeasure with a smile.

"There was no choice," Konori-senpai said. "In this situation, not doing anything might hurt us just as much as doing the wrong thing." She leaned back into her chair with her third carton of milk in hand. She had a stockpile of those in their small fridge. With no power to keep it cool they'd be spoiled, so she was gulping them down as fast as she could. She had even given them one each. Kazari looked at the carton on the table in front of her. She had just taken one sip so far, and the boy refused to even look at it, as if it was poisonous.

Kazari smiled at her longhaired friend. "Don't worry Saten-san; Shirai-san and Kamilia-san can take care of themselves."

The long-haired girl frowned, fingering the carton of milk she had been handed. "Yeah I know, but… what if this was all planned somehow? It seems like you guys have been tripped up more than once already."

"Well…" Kazari had nothing to say to that. It was true that their obstacles had become more and more aggressive in the past few hours, as if every action taken on their side was already planned for and countered on the other side. To be honest, she still had trouble assessing it all. Everything had happened so fast, and the dimensions were so great it seemed unreal. But despite her own uncertainty, she did her best to reassure her friend. "I'm sure they'll be fine. No-one knows they've left, or where they're going."

Konori-senpai finished emptying her fourth milk carton and reached for the fifth. "I find it hard to imagine _they_ had anything to do with the power outage," she stated, "but on the off chance that they do, us sitting around here doing nothing must be exactly what they're hoping for. It would be exactly what we _would_ be doing too, if not for Shirai-san's ability." The Judgment branch's senior member looked annoyed. "Honestly, who'd figure the _door_ would get stuck when the power went out?"

Kazari looked over at the offending object. The electronic lock had malfunctioned at the outage, and now they were trapped. Shirai-san could probably have teleported the entire door off its hinges, but Konori-senpai had shooed her and Kamilia-san out of there before they even realized what had happened. Thinking about it, getting out of here wasn't their main concern really. There was nothing much for them to do outside in the rain. What they really should be doing was continuing their investigation.

"So…" Saten-san drew the word out, "now what? Do you have a backup-generator or something?"

"We have a small one for the server, but it's just enough keep it from stopping, in order to avoid any hardware crashes." Kazari said, looking over at her workspace. It was as dark as the rest of the office, almost depressing. "For about ten minutes or so, that is…" After that, everything would be down. The emergency battery was only designed to avoid server crashes during shorter periods with no power. In Academy City, complete blackouts were a rarity only believed to occur due to the extreme mood swings of a certain Level 5.

Saten-san groaned. "So the only thing we can do is sit here and wait for Kamilia-san and Shirai-san to track down that Ichaicha-guy, while that kid keeps staring at us?"

Their guest reddened fiercely at that and hurriedly stared at his knees. He was pressing his lips so hard together Kazari wondered if he expected them to try and pry them open.

Saten-san suddenly grinned at him, a glint in her eyes. "Hey, you know something?" She stood up and walked over to the boy, leaning down to meet his eyes. "If you tell us everything you know, I'll give you a whole chocolate bar."

He reddened even more, but stubbornly refused to open his mouth. Saten-san smirked and rubbed her chin mischievously. "I know a place where they sell loooots of chocolate, in every taste and shape imaginable! Just yesterday I had a tiny taste from a coconut-lemon white chocolate with orange coating, and it really _melted _on my tongue." She shuddered, as if delighted at the thought alone. "Look here, you can still see the mark!" She opened her mouth and stuck her tongue out, at which point they boy gave a yelp and jumped into Kazari.

"Saten-san, what are you doing?" Kazari asked.

The other girl straightened and rubbed her neck with a sheepish smile on her face. "Well, you know, I figured I'd try some interrogation while we're stuck here…"

Kazari sighed, but it wasn't like Saten-san had done any harm… yet. "You don't need to do that, you know."

"Then, why don't you give it a try, Uiharu!" Saten-san cheerfully gave her the challenge.

"Eh?" Kazari looked at the boy. He looked back, flushed as he realized their close proximity, and hurriedly scooted back to his corner. _Despite his looks, he's really shy. _She slowly scratched her cheek. "Well, we already tried a lot, didn't we?" The boy hadn't made a single sound since he got there.

"No, no, Uiharu!" Saten-san wagged her finger with a look of satisfaction on her face. "We still haven't tried it all." She glanced at the boy and grinned. "We haven't pulled out _that_."

Kazari blinked. "What?"

The next instant, Saten-san squatted in front of her and pulled up her skirt.

"Iiiiyaaaah!" Kazari squealed and tried to pull it back down, but Saten-san was holding it too tightly.

The boy had grown completely red, up to his ears. "What the hell are you doing, ugly!"

"Oh, _now _you can talk!" Saten-san grinned, still holding Kazari's skirt up. "Tell us everything you know, or I'll _never _lower it!"

"Saten-saaaaan!"

The kid merely hid his face in his hands, and Kazari yanked her skirt out of the other girl's hands. "Don't _do _that!"

Saten-san laughed sheepishly. "Yaa, you know, I got bored from doing nothing."

Kazari puffed her cheeks out. "That's _not _good enough."

"Sorry, sorry… I'll buy you a parfait later, so forgive me, okay?"

"Begging won't work! Hmph!" Kazari looked the other way.

Konori-senpai opened yet another carton, like she hadn't noticed anything at all. "The power supply company must have noticed the failure by now, so let's hope they're quick about it." She seemed stressed, but maybe that was because of all the milk she had left.

"But Konori-senpai, do you really think Ichaicha-san has anything to do with this?" Kazari asked her senior, while Saten-san went back to her seat. For all the talk, they still had no evidence, and it just seemed unreal that a former Judgment member would be doing something like this.

Konori-senpai looked thoughtful; carton of milk paused halfway to her mouth. "I didn't know him very well, but he didn't come off as a law-breaking type of guy. If he had that sort of vibe to him he wouldn't have gotten the position as Goalkeeper in the first place."

"Goalkeeper?"

"Ah, it doesn't matter." Konori-senpai sighed. "The point is, he doesn't seem like a likely suspect based on what we know from his time in Judgment." She looked up at their desks and the computers which were either out of power, or unable to connect to the LAN and simply useless to them in their current state. "Right now we can't do anything but wait."

Wait for whichever came first; the power, or Shirai-san and Kamilia-san's report from their visit to ITelligence. The girls each looked at their own part of the room, having nothing left to discuss at this point. The seconds ticked by, and the boy in the sofa shuffled his feet uncomfortably.

"That's it." Konori-senpai suddenly stood up.

"Wha-?" Kazari looked on in surprise as her senior went over to the cabinet on the wall and pulled out the fire extinguisher. "Konori-senpai?"

"What's she doing?" Saten-san asked. Konori-senpai walked determinedly over to the door with the fire extinguisher in hand. She stopped in front of it and gazed at it darkly. Then she grabbed the cylinder with both hands and lifted it above her head.

"Wah – Konori-senpai!" Kazari stood up, but at that moment the out-of-power door suddenly gave a beep. Everyone was shocked. Had the power come back? Had the door sensed danger? How would smashing a fire extinguisher into it help at all? The questions fell short when the door opened and a brilliant voice greeted them.

"Oh, Konori-senpai! I was starting to wonder if there was no-one here, with the power turned off and all." To their surprise and relief, the one who entered the office was Mikoto.

"Misaka-san?"

"Man, I'm soaked through. You guys have towels or something, right?" Mikoto looked up at the older student, and her eyes widened. "Eh…? Konori-senpai?"

Konori-senpai hurriedly put the fire extinguisher down. "Ah, sorry about that. We were stuck in here due to the power outage. Thank goodness you came around, Misaka-san!" She smiled brightly.

"I'll find some towels!" Kazari immediately stood up and hurried over to one of their shelves, thankful that something finally broke up the stagnant atmosphere.

Konori-senpai eyed something behind Mikoto. "Who's this?"

"Oh, she's just a glutton who's had too much to eat. I figured taking her here would be shorter than walking her back home, and I wanted to check out the situation with you guys anyway." Mikoto pulled a girl dressed in what could only be a nun's outfit with her into the office. She was groaning lightly, just as wet as Mikoto.

"Toooouma~" The nun-clad girl moaned, clutching her stomach.

"Yeah yeah, we'll find that idiot later." Mikoto said indifferently and hung her wet school jacket over a chair. She accepted the towels that Kazari brought over, and handed one of them to Index. "You better sit down on the sofa, but try not to ruin it."

The hurting girl shuffled over to the sofa and deposited the towel onto it, then lay down on top with a groan. The boy sitting there tried to curl up even more into his corner, as if she was contaminated.

Mikoto dried her hair as best she could. "So? What's going on?"

Kazari and Ruiko hesitated, looking at each other briefly.

"Well…" Kazari started at last, "how much do you know?" She wasn't sure whether she wanted to be the one to explain everything about how the cell phone search had grown out of hand like this.

"I'm completely out of the loop this time, so how about just filling me in on the current situation?" Towel hanging around her neck, Mikoto looked at the kid sitting curled up in the sofa. He flinched under her glance, and Mikoto looked puzzled. "Like, who's this?"

"He was picked up at an arcade in town, saying he was the one behind the bot's going crazy." Ruiko explained. "He's being stubborn now, though."

"Huuh." Mikoto seemed interested. She looked back at the boy, and there was a small _crack_. The boy visibly jumped in his seat, and the next instant Mikoto stood above him, smiling. "Will you give me that?"

The boy looked like she had just asked him to end his own life. With a nervous expression he stiffly put a hand into his pocket and pulled out something too small for them to see. He handed it to Mikoto's outstretched hand, and she examined it closely.

"What is that?" Kazari came up beside her. In Mikoto's hand lay a small device the size of a marble.

"It's a microphone."

"A microphone?" Konori-senpai was shocked. "But I scanned him when he came here! How could he have hidden something like that?" Naturally, her x-ray vision should have caught it, but…

"Maybe you missed it?" Saten-san asked, voicing everyone's thoughts.

Konori-senpai sighed deeply, her shoulder drooping. "I can't believe it! And we've been saying all sorts of things in front of him too." She glared at the boy and he shrunk together in the sofa. "Where did you get that thing?"

"Now, now, Konori-senpai," Kazari tried to ease her down. "I think you're just scaring him even more."

Konori-senpai huffed, but pulled back. "At the very least, there's no doubt _they_ know everything we've found out so far. No wonder they've been one step ahead all the way…" she grumbled. "I'd like to continue our investigation now that we're bug free, but with no electricity…"

"Ah…" Ruiko spoke up, and they looked at her; she was staring at Mikoto. The Level 5 was using her fingers to straighten out her hair as best she could when she noticed the attention. "Hm?"

"Oh…" Kazari looked at the older girl as well. "Misaka-san…"

Konori-senpai seemed to gain a shred of hope. "But is that…?"

"Aah." Understanding, Mikoto looked up at the dark lamps in their ceiling. "If that's all you need, I guess I can always spare some."

XXX

The cafeteria was brimming with students. The combination of rampaging cleaning bots and a sudden downpour made people willingly cram together like sardines. The cafeteria's employees seemed to have enough to do with all the orders flying. Having a 'paying customers only' policy must be profitable at such a time.

Of course, with these circumstances there was no free table, but Rambo forced his way through the masses up to the window where a long table with high bar stools was set up. Far too advanced for Touma, the thug glared vehemently at two kids sitting there until they decided it was safer to scram.

"I found some free chairs." Rambo said. Praying for his karma's well-being, Touma was too tired to object, and he had finally gotten his hands on a hot drink and even a sandwich. It was dry and tough to chew, and tasted like it had never seen a fresh ingredient in its life. It was the best meal he'd ever had.

"This all reminds of me of that time… Damn, now I'm sad." Rambo the thug was sighing deeply, and the sensitivity of the topic would have been surprising, if not for his tone suggesting that he might as well be commenting on the weather. Touma would ask why he was sad, but to be frank he cared more about filling his crying stomach with some nutrition.

But Rambo wouldn't let it pass that easily.

"You're not even gonna ask why I'm sad, you brat!? You owe me that much after all the shit you've dragged me into!"

_Again I'm held responsible for things that are totally out of my control…_ Touma wanted to cry. "If you really want to tell me, go ahead." Not like he could stop the guy from talking anyhow.

But now Rambo just frowned. "I have nothing to say to you!"

_Make up your mind already! _"Then shut up and let me eat my first meal of the day! It's because of you guys chasing me around that I couldn't get my shopping done and my fridge at home is still totally empty!"

"Shit, don't cry all over the table!"

It wasn't tears, but water from their clothes and hair that was dripping onto the tabletop. Rambo wiped it off with the napkin belonging to his neighbor, and then placed it back where he found it.

"Since you're such a loser, I'll tell you for free." The thug looked like he thought he was doing Touma a favor.

"You were planning to _charge _me?" Touma asked, deadpan. Even if he _had _money to spare, he could think of about one million better things to spend it on.

"Shut up and listen. This is the kind of weather we had back when I first met _her_."

Touma cursed upon the gods he did not usually believe in. He figured the thug might be sad because he hadn't gotten any secret information out of Misaka, but this sounded like something he'd rather not hear about.

"It was back in high school, two years ago. I was involved in some shit and had a tough time…"

"You know, you really don't have to tell me this." Touma was certain this story was too personal for his liking.

Rambo the thugs banged a fist into the table. "You asked for it!"

He had not, but there was no use arguing. It would probably be over more quickly that way.

"Anyway, I was running for student council president—"

"Wait, hold on!" Touma needed a second or two to comprehend. The guy might be joking with him, but his expression was way too serious. "There's something very wrong about this! But asking you to stop now would be too cruel, so please go ahead."

Rambo frowned, but continued. "I met her during a raid on the Strange to round up some voters."

Touma had no idea what 'the Strange' was, but it sounded like a place where gangs would meet up. Which made no sense in this context! "What kind of school did you go to?"

Rambo ignored his question. "She beat us up good. When we tried to gang up on her, she took out four of us at once. Laughed in our faces. Fucking awesome." He gave a nostalgic sigh, like an old man reminiscing about better days.

"I'm guessing she's another Judgment member, from the sounds of it…" Touma deduced, plucking at the wrap the sandwich had been in as if hoping to find some crumbles in the folds.

"She was." Rambo said. "After the election campaign she kept patrolling our turf and we had a few run-ins. I even helped her out occasionally, gave her some info on the gangs in the area. But after I graduated a year ago, she stopped coming and we lost contact. I tried to ask her branch office, but they said she'd quit Judgment. Just like that."

Touma figured something must have happened for someone to quit Judgment so suddenly. Rambo just shrugged at that, as if to say 'fuck knows'. Apparently he did not know her school either.

"So… what about Shirai-san? Is she just a replacement to you?" Touma asked, wondering if the guy was just a womanizer after all.

Rambo's eyes glinted disturbingly. "They're alike in more ways than one. But Shirai-sama's just… so _innocent_, you know?"

"I really don't." She's the kind of girl who'd lie all over her roommate's bed while she was out, and drop-kick innocent shoppers in the head out of nowhere.

"Whenever I see her I get the urge to protect her from harm!" Rambo valiantly claimed.

"She's perfectly capable of doing that herself, and besides, she has a human lightning generator to look out for her." Touma sighed.

"Yeah, who the hell was that chick? I think I've seen her before." He was still clueless in that regard. Maybe it was better if he didn't know. From what he'd seen so far, Touma didn't think it unlikely that Rambo would charge off to challenge Misaka to a fight the moment he realized that she was the same personthat destroyed their car and sent his gang to the hospital. Then again, he had seemed pretty meek when the name "Railgun" came up earlier. Maybe he wouldn't be that stupid.

"What the hell?" Suddenly, Rambo glared at the window as if it was his worst enemy.

Touma looked out the window too. Someone was outside looking back in. It was a girl with an umbrella shielding her long, black hair from the rain, wearing a knee-long skirt and a fine blouse which completed the image of a beautiful high school girl. The glasses on her nose made her seem timid, but clashed with the confident look in her eyes. Her lips moved, as if she was trying to speak through the glass.

_CRAASSSH!_

An incredible noise filled the cafeteria when the windows suddenly shattered inwards. The sharp bits and pieces rained over the students inside, who reacted with shock and panic. Touma was knocked backwards off his chair. There was no time to even think about raising his right hand.

"What the fuck!" Rambo the thug was quickly back on his feet, glass falling off his shoulders. He had a small cut on his cheek but nothing worse. Touma stung all over when he stood up, and wondered how many small glass pieces his skin could fit. The cafeteria was erupting into chaos as everyone tried to force themselves further away from the windows. One of the girls who had been sitting beside Touma was crying over a cut in her forehead.

But the girl that had caused the commotion seemed perfectly unperturbed. "Oh, it seems our information on you was incorrect." The girl stepped onto the window sill, tossed her umbrella aside and completely ignored the chaos she had just created. Pushing her glasses up on her nose, she looked right at Touma, a small smile gracing her smooth features.

"Who the hell are you!?" Rambo looked like he wanted to charge at her, but there was one detail about the girl that must have held him back.

"This is Judgment!" The girl pulled forward the armband fastened to her right sleeve like she was brandishing a weapon. "You are under arrest for causing the cleaning bot massacre!"

"Wait, what?" Touma had lost track already. The girl was most definitely looking at him and brandishing her Judgment armband. She had also said something about him being arrested for being a filthy murderer who'd gladly taken the life of dozens of innocent cleaning bots. _How does one even _do _that? _The image of a lightning-spitting middle school girl jumped into his mind.

"The fuck are you on?" Rambo growled, towering above the girl like a gladiator. "Just let her arrest you already!"

"Why are you on _her_ side!?"

The girl looked at Rambo for a second, and then smiled. "Please stay out of the way." The Judgment girl snapped her fingers, and the thug was violently thrown from his spot and crashed into a table like he had just been hit by a truck. The students standing close by backed off in surprise.

Touma got to his feet. It looked like she wasn't here to chat, but he'd like to avoid a fight inside the cafeteria if possible.

"This will be over quickly if you cooperate and give yourself in." The girl smiled smugly at Touma, still ignoring the mayhem she was causing.

Why did she suddenly attack them so violently? Even if they _were _suspects in the cleaning bot case, it wasn't like Judgment normally walked around and blew everything to pieces. "Do you have anything to do with the cleaning bot rampage or the All-Eating bot?" That was the only thing he could imagine would give her reason to attack them. She must be on their wanted list.

The girl sighed and put a hand on her hip. "Indeed, I cannot seem to find an excuse that will remove our involvement. I am Ibara Lucia of Judgment, and we are currently investigating the cleaning bot massacre. You are a prime suspect. Will you defy us?" Over the shocked silence that had fallen in the cafeteria, her voice was easily heard by everyone inside. The atmosphere in the room had changed drastically from just a few seconds ago. Unease and confusion spread amongst the students.

"She said she's in Judgment, right?" and "Why did she smash the window? It was so scary!" and "She attacked those guys without warning…" where just some of the murmurs Touma picked up. The employees of the cafeteria was trying to lead people to move away from the shattered glass, and one of them, a large guy with a pin on his chest saying 'shift manager', came up to Touma and the Judgment girl who had introduced herself as Ibara-san.

"What's going on here, miss?" His eyes glanced at Touma before settling on the girl. "Did this guy do something?" If he was having trouble pin-pointing the true criminal here, Touma was very grateful.

"Can you not see I am on duty? Please refrain from disturbing a Judgment member at work. I would have to fine you."

The employee seemed a bit nervous, looking around at the broken glass and upturned tables. "I understand that, but… this destruction… our boss will go nuts." Maybe the cost for repairing the place would be subtracted from their paycheck. Touma, as one who constantly lived on minimum wage, could sympathize with their concerns.

"Please, this little shop is hardly valuable. Do you really want me to spend my time trying to convince the busy people at Judgment HQ to dig up some small change for compensation?" The girl made a half-hearted shrug, as if not seeing the problem here at all.

She was starting to grate on Touma's nerves. Were all girls in Judgment just too rich to care? "You have no respect for other people's wallets!"

The girl tossed her head is to dismiss the employee. "Enough chit-chat. You are under arrest. If you're not coming quietly, I will have to make you."

As the murmurs around them turned more ominous, Touma felt another kind of unease crawling up his back. _Is she really in Judgment? _Her armband seemed legit enough, though it could have been borrowed or stolen. Whichever it was however, why she was here was still a mystery. There was no way Judgment actually thought he was the culprit, right? Anyway, fighting her would mean endangering everyone in the cafeteria, and he didn't need that. He had to move them somewhere else.

Thus, Touma raised his hands. "Fine, you got me."

One of her fine eyebrows rose just slightly.

"There's no use trying to fight back, is there?" He sighed. "I did what I did, and knew it was wrong. It's just to be expected that Judgment would do their job and hunt me down."

Her surprise quickly turned to humor. "My. Such a valiant way of handling this. I bet you are popular with the ladies."

"I'm not."

"What?"

"Ladies." He shook his head with a sad expression on his face. "There is no such thing as a popular, misfortunate guy!" He raised his fist challengingly. "But I will fight for the day to come when I finally experience a good moment with a girl!"

For some reason, she looked stunned.

"If you're really in Judgment and I really have done something to warrant an arrest, go on and arrest me." He put his hands out again. "Don't involve anyone else."

New mutters spread around them.

The girl's lips curled into a grin. "Heh. You are indeed something else. But your sad love life hardly matters. Don't think you'll be able to escape justice by acting heroic! No matter the opponent, Judgment always prevails!" She stomped the floor, and it seemed to tremble; Touma nearly lost his balance at the tremor spreading below his feet, and the employee quickly ran off.

"Woah – what's this?" Touma jumped to another spot on the floor where he could stand safely. _Giving myself in isn't enough, huh? _Seemed like this Ibara-san was just out for a fight after all.

"Vibration Emission!" The air in front of her mouth seemed to flutter. Touma raised his right hand, and the vibrations hit it head on; his body was pushed backwards, but this time he managed to remain standing while the shockwave was dispelled.

"Oh, so it's your right hand only?" The girl smirked, glasses glinting as she lowered her head slightly.

"Who cares about him? It's me you should be looking out for, bitch!" Rambo the thug charged in from her side. She was clearly no stranger to this kind of thing, easily avoiding him and taking a hold of his wrist.

"You are too stubborn for your own good. I see why Ricoh wanted me to take you out." Her voice rose to the level of a shout as she finished elegantly with: "_Get lost_!" She didn't seem to do anything physically, but there was a sickening _crunch_; Rambo cried out in pain. His hand went limp, and Touma paled at the sight. People around them cried out in surprise.

"What the hell happened?"

"She broke his hand!"

Rambo collapsed to the floor with a soul-wrenching cry, clutching his arm, while horrified students started backing out of the cramped cafeteria. The three employees were having trouble keeping everything under control, and looked like they wanted nothing more than to flee, themselves. Touma hoped they had the presence of mind to call for Anti-Skill. But even if law-enforcing adults were on their way, he couldn't ignore the girl in front of him. Not all of the students were running; some looked ready to fight. This would become a battleground if he didn't do something.

XXX

"I can't promise nothing will be damaged." Mikoto looked over the wires running from the server to the power outlet and the other equipment it used.

"It's better than sitting here doing nothing," Konori-senpai said. "It's the only computer nearby with access to the Judgment databases."

Kazari was slightly nervous, but she agreed that solving this case was more important than worrying about hardware. They needed the computer to investigate further, and they needed electricity for the computer to run. Having the Level 5 Electromaster around at the moment seemed a coincidence almost too good to be true, so having to risk their equipment was a small price to pay.

"So how much equipment do you need?" Mikoto asked, rolling her shoulder as if preparing for an athletic event.

"Can you power the entire office?" Konori-senpai asked. Of course, that would be convenient.

"Ah, well, keeping it steady for a longer period of time without damaging any of the equipment would be difficult. It would be easier if I had access to the generator."

"We don't have a local generator strong enough to handle that much, so we'll have to make do with only the basics. Uiharu?" Konori-senpai looked at her junior.

"Then, in addition to the server, one or two screens and the network bridge should be enough." Kazari said.

"That's all?" Mikoto grinned. She put a hand on the server; Kazari squealed in alarm when electricity leapt forth, imagining the whole thing would blow up.

"Misaka-san, please be careful!"

"No worries, this'll be easy~" Mikoto assured her. Kazari wasn't so sure. Using the input point for the building as a starting point and supplying power to the correct wall sockets from there would probably be easier, but this building had its entry point below ground, and everything was controlled from a central generator. The electricity was divided into the different sockets based on how much power the devices plugged into it required in order to function. Now they would be doing the exact opposite; using the server as an entry point, electricity would be sent into the wall sockets, and from there it would be distributed to power the equipment they needed. Too much electricity would overload the equipment, and too little would make it strain and break down. Needless to say, the operation could go wrong on so many levels with just a minor miscalculation.

The server made a deep hum as it was woken from its slumbering state, the screens flickered to life one by one, and the lights on the network bridge on the wall started blinking as the device powered up.

"Woa…" Kazari was amazed. She sat down by the computer and tested the mouse cursor. "It works!"

"That's pretty useful." Konori-senpai said. "If we ever reach the apocalypse, Misaka-san would be able to provide us with enough power to survive for a while."

"Kh – I'd answer that if I didn't have to focus on keeping this stable." Mikoto said, brow furrowed as she gazed intently at the server. "I don't know how long I can keep it up…"

"Let's continue where we left off then." Kazari ventured to pull up the databases and the picture of the girl they had captured with their security camera. It wasn't the best quality, but it should be possible to use it as a reference for a search.

"We know she's an esper with an ability that can cut through metal, in her teens, and she's blonde…" Kazari typed in a search string into the database and waited for the system to process the results.

"Ah, this is…" She was surprised, as if her own effectiveness had startled her. Three matches based on the picture they retained from the camera in the interview room and the ability to cut through metal. Both Kazari and Konori-senpai looked at the three of them carefully. But the longer they looked at them, the more alike they seemed. In the end, Kazari gave up. "I never saw her face clearly; we really shouldn't have sent Shirai-san and Kamilia-san off…"

Konori-senpai frowned. "Nashiro Usai, Sengoku Taichi, Sunohara Ricoh…"

"Huh?" Suddenly, Ruiko spoke up. She had volunteered to keep watching the kid and the nun (who was snoring heavily on the sofa by now). They looked over at her and the boy; he seemed even tenser than before, staring right at the table with his hands curled into fists at his thighs.

"What happened?" Konori-senpai asked.

"He suddenly looked down when you mentioned that last name."

The boy's shoulders squared up, and his lips were tightly pursed. Though he wouldn't cooperate enough to talk, his gestures alone were more than enough to reveal his thoughts.

Kazari looked back at the profile of the name in question. A Level 3 psychic, sixteen years old, and… "…another former Judgment member…" She felt her heart beat quicker. She quickly opened the girl's Judgment profile. "She was a senior at branch 27 until she quit last year."

Konori-senpai frowned. "I really don't want to believe this, but we should probably mention this to Shirai-san and Kamilia-san."

"Kuroko?" Mikoto looked over for a second, and the screens blinked.

Kazari's heart rose to her throat. "Misaka-san!"

"Sorry!" She quickly recovered, and the system became stable again. "So what's going on, really? Where _is _Kuroko, anyway?"

"She and fellow Judgment member Kamilia-san are attempting to find the ones behind the cleaning bot rampage and the hacking attempt on ITelligence and Judgment's systems," Konori-senpai filled her in, knowing it was useless to try and hide everything from her.

"I…Telligence?"

"They're the ones developing the bot's AI systems, as well as controlling the system through their databases."

"Huuh…" Mikoto drawled, still staring at the server.

"Can you hold it a bit more, Misaka-san? I found something here…" Kazari clicked to open a document attached to Sunohara's Judgment profile. It asked for a password.

"No permission to open?" Konori-senpai leaned forward. "I've never come across something like that in a Judgment profile before."

"In that case, we'll just do it the hard way!" Kazari declared. "This is too important to think about regulations!" She ran another program and typed a few lines of commands. Soon after, a copy of the document opened on the screen in front of them.

"A case from a year ago?" Konori-senpai asked, looking closer.

"More like a year and a half." Kazari's eyes flew over the page, scanning the contents. "MIRTH animal experiment facility… Usan Research?" Her eyes widened.

"What?" Mikoto looked over again, and the entire system hiccupped. Luckily it didn't shut down, and she managed to steady it once more, but it seemed like it took a lot to keep it steady.

"We don't need to look at it in digital form," Konori-senpai said, "Misaka-san, can you turn on the printer for us?"

"Hn – the problem lies in restraining the electricity from overrunning the computer." Mikoto concentrated, and the printer on the shelf behind them whirred into life. Kazari hurriedly clicked the print icon, and a few seconds later the job was finished.

"Done!"

Mikoto finally sat back and breathed deeply. The instruments around them shut down instantly as the electric input was cut off. Konori-senpai picked up the paper they had printed, and gazed at it seriously. "It really does mention Usan Research."

"What do those guys got to do with this?" Mikoto asked. "I thought they were into spice research."

"That was only one branch, Misaka-san." Kazari reminded her.

"Oh right…"

"Usan Research were the owners of MIRTH, a facility experimenting on animals." Konori-senpai read off the paper. "This describes a case in which the facility was revealed to deal in illegal methods for obtaining equipment from outside the city. Unfortunately it was hard for Anti-Skill to do anything. Then a reported incident investigated by a Judgment branch turned out to be connected with the facility, and they ended up getting caught up in an internal sabotage plan. Apparently some of the employees at the facility planned to bring down the entire building to get back at their higher-ups and expose the fraud. Some of the students under this Judgment branch's jurisdiction were involved with the facility for training purposes. The Judgment members went to evacuate everyone still inside, and were caught in the blast. One of the Judgment members sustained heavy injuries and was still in the hospital when this report was written."

"Who were the Judgment members?" Kazari asked, even though she felt like she already knew.

"27th branch…" Konori-senpai trailed off.

"Kamilia-san's branch seems… heavily involved in all this." Kazari's gut twisted uncomfortably.

Konori-senpai looked troubled. "I really don't want to believe this, but someone must have worked with that boy to give him the microphone as well."

"What, you mean Kamilia-san is with _them_!?" Ruiko exclaimed.

"Don't say it that bluntly. We still have no evidence!" Konori-senpai barked. "And this is not something a civilian should hear!"

"It's a bit too late to cover my ears now."

"I'll tell Shirai-san!" Kazari said, pulling out her cell phone.

"What happened with the facility?" Mikoto asked, getting to her feet.

Konori-senpai looked conflicted. "Misaka-san, you are a civilian too…"

"Does that really matter right now?" Mikoto huffed.

Konori-senpai looked like she wanted to say it did, but relented and read off the report. "The facility was closed down by its owners and Anti-Skill arrested some of the employees. The entire incident was reported as an internal conflict case, and is now only known as 'the Zoo incident' to anyone familiar with it." Her eyes lit up eagerly. "That's where _the Zoo_ came from!"

"Why was an incident like that covered up?" Ruiko asked, looking disturbed.

"Because of Usan Research." Mikoto frowned. "It's just the same as back _then_." She looked over at Kazari. "Where is Kuroko—"

"Misaka-san, you need to do something else for us." Kazari interrupted with a smile.

"Eh?" Mikoto blinked.

"The girl needs to get home, right?"

Mikoto looked over at the sofa and the nun-clad girl. She had just woken up, rubbing her eyes and yawning deeply. Mikoto's face fell. She'd forgotten all about her.

"You're the one who brought her here, Misaka-san, so it would only be right that you bring her home." Kazari smiled brightly.

Mikoto was taken aback. "I-I don't have time for that—"

"Oh really? Were you planning on storming the ITelligence office? Or maybe catch up with Shirai-san and Kamilia-san?" Ruiko grinned knowingly, and Mikoto reddened.

"I wasn't planning any—"

"That's good, then you and Saten-san follow her home." Konori-senpai concluded. "Uiharu, you and I will take the boy to Anti-Skill and fill them in on the situation."

"Aah, the civilians are left out of all the action." Ruiko sighed, though she was smiling. "Well, I'd rather have that than being thrown into something I couldn't handle. Right, Misaka-san?" She grinned at the other girl.

Mikoto frowned. "I can handle—"

"That's great, we'll handle this job perfectly well!" Ruiko grabbed her hand and dragged her over to the sofa where Index sat.

"Wait a minute! Saten-san—"

"No, no, there's no time for that. Hey, I know a really good store that just opened up! Let's take a look at it later!"

Mikoto protested as best she could. "I can't just—"

"We civilians will have plenty of fun doing our own business while Judgment works. It's great!" Ruiko had grabbed Index with her other hand and dragged them both over to the door. "Now, Misaka-san, let's go!" She smiled brightly.

Mikoto did not look convinced.

"Misaka-san." Konori-senpai said. Mikoto looked over and saw her smiling. "Just leave this to us for once, eh? We'll handle it perfectly, so don't worry."

Mikoto looked at them all once more, and then sighed. "Fine. Jeez, you guys are really going out of your way." She put her hand on the electronic lock and shocked it to life once more. Ruiko dragged the door open, and Kazari, Konori-senpai and the boy came over as well; he looked more nervous than ever.

The rain had mostly stopped for the moment, just a light drizzle in the air now. Ruiko had borrowed one of the umbrellas stashed in a bin outside the Judgment office, and she and Index were currently huddled together under it. The nun looked like she was freezing.

"I don't like leaving it like this." Mikoto offered her thoughts.

"Now, now!" Ruiko grinned cheerfully. "Let's leave the boring work to those who signed up for it and go find you a new phone, Misaka-san!"

Mikoto looked mildly annoyed, and sighed deeply. "I get it, I get it. I won't butt in, alright? But don't expect me to turn a blind eye if something serious happens."

The others looked at each other and grinned. Index on the other hand, gave an exasperated sigh. "You're just like Touma, aren't you? No wonder I let myself get tricked along…"

Mikoto grew pure red. "I-I-I'm _not _like that idiot at all!"

"What's this? A love triangle with Misaka-san involved?" Ruiko looked like she had just discovered the One Piece, and her eyes sparkled. "Who is this 'Touma' guy!?"

"N-nobody!" Mikoto's face and ears reddened.

Index puffed her cheeks out. "And now you're denying his entire existence? Even though short-hair was hanging around him all the time this summer!"

"Oh-hoh, what're this juicy news I'm hearing~?"

"T-that's not true! I was just—"

At this point, Kazari and Konori-senpai quietly took their leave with the boy on tow.

XXX

The heavy downpour had finally let up for a light drizzle. That made it possible for the two Judgment members to take a break on a rooftop along their route.

"Ugh… I'm gonna puke…" Kamilia-san sat on her knees and looked more than just slightly ill. "I'm really happy I'm not a teleporter, or I'd never use my ability…"

Kuroko was not impressed by the girl's low endurance. Instead of commenting on it, she checked the map on her phone. "ITelligence's headquarters are just a few minutes off. There are only a few stops left." She noticed there was an unread message from Uiharu on her phone.

"Wait, wait… just give me a minute to breathe." Kamilia-san gasped. Maybe it would be better if they walk, lest they were to show up at ITelligence looking like the last to leave from an underage rave party.

Kuroko frowned and lowered her phone. "Let us not dally too long. There is no telling whether he's realized we're on his tail."

"Jeez, you're so serious." Kamilia-san complained. "Don't you ever get tired of it?"

"Of what?"

Kamilia-san sat up. She still looked pale, but better than before. "Of all this. Being in Judgment. I mean, with all that paperwork, the same stuff happening day after day…"

"Is it perhaps you who are tired?" Kuroko asked, smiling crookedly.

She laughed. "Haha, maybe. I mean, of course it's cool to protect civilians and stuff, but it's so boring when nothing happens, you know? Today has been the most fun I've had in a while though, thanks to you crazy folks." She grinned. "I wonder what else we'll run into!"

Kuroko smiled. "That is enough."

"Hah?" Kamilia-san blinked.

"There is no need to keep up this charade." Kuroko looked down at her with a small smirk. "You will not be able to manipulate our actions any longer."

Kamilia-san's mouth was open in a surprised 'o' at first, but then slowly closed.

"Heh." Her lips curled upwards in a grin. "Are you serious?"

"There is no reason to joke around at this point." Kuroko waved her phone lightly to indicate the message she'd gotten from Uiharu.

Kamilia-san seemed humored. "What gave me away?"

"There were several indicators, such as the incredible timing of our adversaries and the events we witnessed at just the right time. However, the proof lies in a somewhat mysteriously placed microphone in our office, and the fact that 'the Zoo' is an incident which should be well known amongst the members of 27th Branch."

Kamilia-san sighed. "Really, that idiot just had to go and spill that out, didn't she?"

Kuroko cocked her head. "Do you believe we wouldn't have found out otherwise?"

"I guess you would. Damn." Kamilia-san grinned. "Just my curiosity here, but why didn't you say anything before now if you suspected me all along?"

"Suspicion is not the same as definite proof. In such a situation, doubting even your own co-workers is not a good thing. Also, if my suspicion happened to be true, I wished to give you the chance to explain yourself. When it comes down to it, you do not seem like a bad person."

"Wow, I feel honored. Well," Kamilia-san stood up, "I guess that's that."

"Will you not attempt to justify your actions?"

Kamilia-san sighed. "What's the use? To be honest, I feel sorry it couldn't have lasted longer. I was starting to enjoy working with you. But," she shrugged, "I would feel bad about switching sides too."

Kuroko looked at her seriously. "How about being a double agent then? If you tell us who's behind this, and what their goal is, you can go back and tell them exactly what we know."

"The thought is interesting, but you've already pushed us too far for that to be of any use to us. Also, I'm not interested in the why's and how's. I'm just along for the ride." Kamilia-san gave a melancholic grin. "My job was to find out why you wanted to find our bot that much, and then keep you distracted. Buying time if you will, unless I could stop you from doing any more investigation. But boy, you guys are seriously stubborn." She sighed deeply. "Who in their right mind would put this much effort into something this ridiculous? All because of a cell phone?"

"I can assure you you'd rather want me on your tail than Onee-sama," Kuroko smirked. "However, there are still some unclear parts. It is obvious the ones behind the All-Eating bot and the bot attack are the same people, and that they are tied to Judgment 27th Branch and the Zoo incident in one way or another. But why are you doing all this? Is it because we drove you into a corner when we caught Sunohara-san?" She was missing a piece or two from the puzzle. Everything didn't quite match up. So what was it?

"Again, you're asking me – I wouldn't be able to answer you to your satisfaction. My own reasons may not coincide with Sunohara's." Kamilia-san sighed. "Sadly, now that it's come to this I can't afford to let you go on with your investigation."

Kuroko stared at her for a moment, wondering if she should give her another chance to reconsider. But that seemed unlikely. She sighed lightly. "I see. I have one question though."

"What?"

"…Are you really in Judgment?"

Kamilia-san grinned. "Are you questioning whether 27th Branch is even a legit part of Judgment now? I'm insulted!" She raised a hand, and Kuroko dodged to the side almost on instinct – something hit her shoulder and she was pushed backwards a few steps. Feeling the power head on made it clearer how it worked. _She's not firing some kind of force through the air, merely affecting a pre-defined target._ On higher levels such an ability could probably be used as a 100% sure-hit weapon, but Kamilia-san might only able to make sure she hit a certain spot in the air. That meant she'd miss Kuroko's head if she dodged at the right time. However –

"So predictable!" Kamilia-san was already at her side. She had raised her _right_ hand to make Kuroko unconsciously dodge to her own right – that would let predict where Kuroko would move. _I got caught in her pace! _Kuroko had no time to process her next move before something was pressed against her abdomen. A shock of pain went through her body and her legs gave out and her sight blackened. The thousands of volts delivered by Judgment's standard stun gun were enough to bring down even the toughest opponent, not to mention a middle school girl.

"Hm. That was over quicker than expected." Kamilia-san sighed. "I thought fighting a teleporter would be stupidly hard. And you just had to drop me off at the top of a building too." The sound of breaking concrete sounded; one _crack_ after the other. She must be using her ability on the building. "If no one finds you by tomorrow I'll see about giving someone your location."

She was climbing down the building. When her footsteps were audible from the ground below, disappearing into the distance, Kuroko cracked an eye open.

"Ugh…" She slowly put her hands below her body and managed to sit up. Gambling on getting hit by the stun gun instead of the ability had been risky, but it had seemed the safest bet to avoid being incapacitated. "Still… this stings a bit more than Onee-sama's usual punishments…" She shakily got to her feet, drops of sweats gathering at her brow. There was no time to feel miserable however. She had to move before she lost her target, or the decision to get hit instead of taking out Kamilia-san would have been for naught. She was not convinced Kamilia-san would talk if she was stopped, and going to ITelligence after that would be a blind shot in the dark. Therefore she had opted to let herself get knocked out, betting on her ability to endure the stun gun.

She clenched her jaw and took a few tentative steps towards the edge of the roof. _Whatever their objective is, they're willing to take extreme measures in order to reach it._ She reached the edge of the roof and looked down. There was a series of crevices along the wall, all the way to the bottom. A crude ladder, punched right into the wall one hole at a time.

Kuroko climbed down the same ladder, saving her teleporting energy for later. Looking at her cell phone, she could follow a single dot as it moved along the alleyways. Having access to the Central Cell Phone Position System on her own phone was just one of the perks of having the system administrator as her colleague.

The hunt was on.

XXX

Touma's hands clenched into fists. He glared at the beautiful girl standing opposite him. "What are you hoping to accomplish by attacking us here?"

Rambo the thug was on the floor, strings of nonsensical curses leaving his mouth as he clutched his arm.

"I am here to arrest you." Her answer was immediate, giving no room for question.

Was she really in Judgment? If she was, and Touma fought her, he might be arrested for real and end up earning the sympathy of the other students. Worst case scenario, a fight might break out involving more than them. If she wasn't, but had instead stolen that armband somewhere and acted like she was in Judgment to achieve some higher goal, he had to make her reveal herself. The question then was how likely it was for her to be a real Judgment member acting on orders. He knew she was lying about his so-called crimes, and reducing Rambo to that state was also unnecessary for a simple arrest. What was she after by doing this?

Touma met her gaze steadily as his next words formed almost by themselves. "Whether you are a real Judgment member or not, fact is you're still accusing us on false grounds. Unless you are truly uninformed, you already know that. Which means that you doing this is based on an ulterior motive."

She looked interested. "What makes you think that?"

The fact that she didn't deny it or look surprised at his reasoning assured Touma he was indeed onto something. "The cleaning bots started acting up after Judgment got involved. You show up now making false charges on behalf of Judgment. If we stretch our imagination, it's not unthinkable that your objective right now is to make Judgment look as bad as possible."

She looked even more intrigued now.

"What I don't know is why you want to do something like that, or what this has to do with the All-Eating bot. No…" He slowly shook his head. "Our search for the bot must have collided with someone else's plans. When Judgment got involved, you had no other choice. And since you still haven't managed to stop us, you're resorting to taking us out with force. Posing as a Judgment member will just make it easier for you to get away with it. Also…" His eyes narrowed, "if you can pin the blame for all this on Judgment or start a city-wide uproar against them, you'll be able to pull out and disappear."

The girl looked impressed. "Not bad." She grinned. "I was under the impression I came to arrest a no-brain brawler, but you actually have the ability to reason." She raised her hand and snapped her fingers. The sound reverberated and filled their eardrums.

"I find your theory interesting," the girl said, "but too bad for you, it's completely wrong!" Suddenly, she was yelling. "Since you're going to put up a fight, we'll just have to arrest _everyone_ in here!"

_What the hell!? _Touma gritted his teeth.

"You are all in on this, eh?" She said, looking over the people in the cafeteria. "Planning an uproar and spreading lies about Judgment. I will have to discipline you properly!"

"What the hell are you on about, we just came in here to avoid the rain!" One of the students inside the cafeteria protested. "You're the ones destroying property and hurting people!"

"I am Judgment!" Ibara Lucia proclaimed, displaying her armband like a war banner. "Any resistance will be fought down!"

The cafeteria transformed. The civilian students who had been trapped in there by the boisterous Judgment member, raged at being threatened. In such a situation, the personalities of the people involved determined the outcome. Some, confused or scared, shied away and stayed silent just because this was Judgment.

Others did not.

"You bitch!" One of the students charged forward in blind rage.

"You'd really attack a Judgment member? Haha!" She laughed, and the sound drummed around them, a deep bass tone that reverberated in his gut. The charging student was flung backwards, and the shockwave passed Touma on both sides, sending tables and chairs flying.

"What the fuck is that bitch doing?" Rambo was shielding his face with his arms.

Touma stared at the flying furniture while it smashed into the walls. _Shockwaves? Using the air, or…_ he suddenly remembered what she called her ability_. Vibrations…_

"You're all open." Her voice came from the left, and he turned – only to receive her punch from the right. This time it was her physical fist, and the strength behind it was enough to make him stumble.

"Guh!" He backed off and then advanced again for a punch on his own.

"That won't do." She smiled, and her words hit his shoulders and neck with the force of a baseball pitch. He moved his right hand in front of him to dispel the attack, but that gave her leeway to move to his side. _What the hell is this ability!? _He blocked her next punch with his left arm. She wasn't particularly strong, though she must have a decent amount of physical aptitude in order to be a Judgment member. But physical strength alone was not necessary for an esper. As soon as their arms connected, Ibara-san cried out and Touma was struck by a great force which pushed him sideways. He thrust his right hand out again, not sure where to aim; only knowing that it was his only means of defense. The force disappeared and he barely managed to remain standing.

"Oh." She was smiling. "You have an interesting ability there."

"It's no ability by Academy City standard," Touma corrected. "I am a Level 0!"

Her eyes flashed. "Don't try to throw me off with blatant lies!" The force of her words struck out and clashed against his hand. Successfully dispelling it once again, Touma glared at her from behind his arm.

"You're a sound manipulator. The strength of your attack is determined by the amount of sound you can transform, isn't it?"

Her eyes narrowed. "You're sharper than you look. But so what? There's plenty noise for me to use in here now!" The air around Touma changed in properties. It was like being stuck in a drum where the atmosphere was compressed. He struck with his right hand and dispelled the attack. Ibara-san was already by his side; she must have restrictions on her ability usage, because she had pulled out her stun gun. However, that was actually more troublesome at this point.

"Hyah!" She thrust the weapon toward Touma, but he grabbed her hand.

"Eh?" Her eyes widened. Touma crouched and stepped in, delivering his whole weight in a body slam. "Kyaah!?" She was thrown off balance and slid over the floor.

Touma tossed the stun gun aside. "You wanted to use the All-Eating bot for something. When Judgment started looking for it, you panicked thinking you'd been found out. Normally, you'd pull out, but something happened that complicated things." He remembered the girl Kuroko had told him about. "That's right… we found one of you! You couldn't afford to have her captured and resorted to make the bots attack everyone. However it failed, and Judgment still captured that girl. I wasn't there to see it, but I'm guessing the arcade was a dead end, meant as another diversion to keep Shirai-san and Kamilia-san busy. I bet you planned to get the girl out during that timeframe."

The girl laughed. "Incredible! You are capable of spouting so much crap while still sounding like you know what you're talking about. Is this how you perform your academic tests as well?" She grinned and got to her feet. "I could crush you from this distance right now, but it would be much more enjoyable to use your own words for the purpose."

"You can't do that."

"Then you don't know my ability as well as you imply." She said. "I can—"

"You can't do that because I'll hit you first!" Touma launched forward and struck at her with his right hand. There was no time to move. His fist collided brutally with her cheek, and the girl stumbled backwards, tripped over a fallen chair and fell to the floor.

"W-w-w-w—" She seemed unable to speak as Touma stood above her, glaring down. She held a hand to her cheek, and her eyes slowly watered up. "Wh-wh-w-why did you _hit _me?"

"Eh?" Touma sweat-dropped.

The girl hiccupped and wailed.

"Dude, did you punch her teeth out or something?" Rambo the thug asked through teeth clenched in pain. "If not, do it!"

Touma rubbed his neck in puzzled confusion. Then he pulled himself together and clenched his hand. "Who else is behind this? What do they want? Why are you dragging everyone into this?" He gestured to the room, where the students were either groaning in pain or covering in fear.

"Fuck you!" She shouted at the floor, which immediately cracked open. The crack ran between his feet, and Touma jumped forward to grab her before she could do anything else.

It was an easy win for Touma with his experience from all kinds of trouble.

But before he could deliver his final blow, his sight blurred and blackened. Something had hit his head with such force it sent him diving to the floor. He had no strength to get back up, and something heavy pressed down at his body, pinning him to the floor.

"Fuck." Rambo's curse was barely audible. "What the hell are you doing?"

_What am I doing? _Touma's mind was too swirly to make sense out of the question.

"You guys are so persistent it's funny. You even made Ibara cry."

"Kamilia-san…" the hiccupping girl sounded relieved.

"Damn, he punched you good, didn't he?" Crunches as shoes walked over the broken glass.

"Miss, are you with Judgment as well? Can you explain what's going on here?" The employees must have dared to stick their heads out once more now that the fight was over.

The steps paused. "Yeah, I'm with Judgment."

"Please, what's going on? Our store…"

"Sigh, who cares about that? I'm just here to take out the trash."

All this, because of a trash sucking robot that happened to swallow a certain item.

"Damn, you're twisted as hell." Rambo growled. "It's fucking annoying and fucking awesome!"

"You look like you'd need to lie down for a bit. What happened to your arm?"

"She fucking broke it!"

"What the hell is Judgment doing!?" Someone yelled out, accompanied by agreeing mutters.

"What are we doing? We're doing what we're _supposed _to; keeping this city safe. Do you have a problem with that?" Kamilia-san sounded like she was ready for a fight.

_Wham!_ A slapping sound pierced the air; it took a second for Touma to realize it was his own hands hitting the floor. He forced his body to listen and slowly got up on his feet.

Kamilia-san was shocked. "How the heck are you able to move?"

Touma made sure his feet were steady, and then turned towards her.

"This is ridiculous! I pinned you down!" She raised her hand, and so did he; her power dispersed against his Imagine Breaker. He grinned at her from behind his hand, while her eyes grew concerned, then angry. "Just lie down and die already!"

The next few seconds went by in a flash. She launched one attack after the other, and Touma blocked and dodged them, drawing in. Touma's ears rang with noise, his shoulders hurt and his knees shook from the strain of keeping his body upright. His feet were knocked from underneath him, and her ability struck him like hammerblows.

But it was like her resistance only added to his determination. Somehow, he got back up again. And then his right fist blocked her ability and connected with flesh.

Or so it should have. Kamilia-san was agile as a cat, and side-stepped Touma's flimsy attack with ease. He lacked the energy to use his full power. Yet when Kamilia-san unleashed her ability again, his right fist was already there, blocking it.

"That's just—!" She was unable to finish, perhaps out of fear when Touma stepped towards her. She stepped backwards on reflex, eyeing his beaten form, still standing. "Who the hell _are_ you? A crazy cyborg experiment or something? Why are you even bothering to fight us?"

"I didn't start the fighting." Touma said, glaring at her darkly. "But even so, you haven't given me a reason not to fight you. If your cause truly is right, it should be possible to achieve it without hurting anyone else."

"What do _you_ know?" She yelled at him, seeming both scared and defiant at the same time.

"I don't know anything!" He declared, standing up straight. "But if you're the ones behind the item-stealing cleaning bot, you sure as hell had it coming to you! Be glad it's me and not an electricity-spitting demonic Level 5!" His sight swirled for a second, and his balance veered off.

At this moment he would be an easy target to take out.

"Halt."

A petite figure stood in the remains of what had once been a floor-to-ceiling window. She brandished the green armband on her sleeve with a glare in her eyes. "This is Judgment."

"Shirai-sama!" Rambo the thug sounded like a pilgrim who had just seen Messiah after a fourteen years long pilgrimage to all the holiest places on Earth.

Kamilia-san's eyes widened first, and then she scowled. "What the hell is going on here, are you all made of rubber?"

"A mere stun gun is of no concern to me." Kuroko smiled pleasantly. She was still aching a bit after the shock, but nothing that would impair her movements.

"_What the hell is wrong with you people?_"

"That should be our line, but I cannot see any answer worth gaining from it, so I'll let you have it." Kuroko sighed.

Kamilia-san clenched her fists. "Don't just show up here and be all cool about it, damn it. You have no idea what this means to us!" She walked over and grabbed Ibara-san by the arm.

"Do you really think I'll allow you to merely leave?" Kuroko asked incredulously.

Kamilia-san glared at her. "Do you really think I'll let you stop us?"

Kuroko smirked. "However are you going to avoid that, I wonder?"

She stiffened when a cold hand grabbed her neck from behind, and a familiar voice spoke up. "How about taking you out, as a first step?"

Kuroko's eyes widened. "Sunohara Ricoh!"

* * *

><p><strong>Note:<strong>

If you held your breath since last time, you should contact Guiness World Records. Also take a trip to your doctor.

Thank you to both Hollowpoint and GreatSnapper for betaing this chapter. Hollowpoint has beta'ed everything in this fic so far, which is a great help. And make sure you check out GreatSnapper's own fan fic, Big Sister's Responsibility. It's truly awesome!


	7. Chapter 7: Headshot

**Chapter 7: Headshot**

Kuroko acted before she could think. Turning around, she grabbed Sunohara Ricoh's wrist – only to have her fingers slashed open. Hissing in pain she withdrew and jumped backwards, cradling her hand.

Sunohara Ricoh observed her coolly, looking as ruffled as when she had been prisoner in their office earlier. There were no weapon visible in her hand, and Kuroko's eyes narrowed as she cradled her bleeding fingers. _Her ability?_

"What are _you_ doing here!?" Kamilia-san looked like someone had just betrayed her.

Sunohara looked dejected. "After seeing how much trouble these guys have been giving us, I figured I better check on you." Her gaze landed on Rambo the thug, and for a second, Kuroko thought she saw her eyes widen. But Sunohara quickly looked away, regarding the beaten and exhausted form of Kamijou-san and finally landing on Kuroko.

Kuroko clenched her teeth, but an unpleasant sweat appeared in her neck. They were outnumbered and injured. Rambo was down, arm broken; Kamijou-san was barely able to stand upright.

"Are you turning yourself in?" Kuroko asked, hoping for a quick conclusion. But Sunohara's expression already told her that was not going to happen. Perhaps a little convincing would do the trick. "Your plan has failed. We are already informing Anti-Skill of what has been going on. Your hacking attempt into our systems has been cut off, and the All-Eating bot has been revealed. You were also behind the entire cleaning bot rampage. There is nothing for you to gain by being stubborn."

It was logic, plain and non-discussable.

Sunohara looked at Kuroko as though watching a struggling sheep. "What the hell are you on about?"

However, humans do not make decisions based on logic. They are driven by feelings. And thus Sunohara would not give in. It was the logical thing to do, but it did not feel right to her. Kuroko had seen it plenty of times; it was common enough that they learned about it in Judgment training. Talking a criminal into standing down often involved appealing to their feelings rather than pointing out the logical flaws of their actions.

"I would love to discuss terms with you, but without knowing your motive for all this, there is not much I can offer." Kuroko grinned, despite the cold sweat trailing down her neck.

Sunohara's lips twitched, not quite turning into a smile. "You guys sure do take your job seriously. It's disgusting, really. And real troublesome."

She stuck a hand into one of her pockets, and Kuroko frowned. Was she going to pull out a weapon? When her hand emerged however, Kuroko's eyes widened.

"Onee-sama's cellphone!?"

It was indeed a green Gekota-shaped phone. It was dirty, but seemed to be intact. Kuroko's heart fluttered. After all this, finally—!

Sunohara gazed at the phone with a solemn look. "To think this stupid thing would cost us so much." She clenched her hand around it. "In this city… everything is so fucked up."

"If you are referring to the Zoo incident, we are already well aware of it." Kuroko said. _I have to make her give it to me!_ Kuroko's mission was crystal clear. She could just teleport over and grab the phone, but any rash actions might lead to something worse. Her fingers still throbbed from the cut. Approaching without a plan was not wise.

"I suppose you do." Sunohara seemed humored. "Really, you guys are the prime example of everything that's wrong around here."

She stuck the phone back into her pocket, and Kuroko's throat grew dry. "I'll leave the rest to you guys. I trust you know what that means." She turned away, and Kuroko tensed. Would attacking her from behind be possible?

"Aye, captain!" Kamilia-san saluted, and Ibara-san wiped her nose and stood up.

"That phone…" It was Kamijou-san who finally spoke up. Sunohara stopped briefly, looking back at him the way you'd look at a speck of dust. Kamijou-san was unsteady on his feet, small cuts bleeding all over his skin from lying on the broken pieces of glass. Yet his eyes were clear and determined, glaring at Sunohara.

"What?" Sunohara's lips quirked up into a grin. "You want me to give it to you?"

Rambo the thug groaned and sat up on his knees. His arm hung uselessly by his side. "Fuck. I'm not gunna let you keep this up, bitch. Ricoh!" He looked furious.

The two boys were fired up, but they were cut off from Sunohara by the two 27th branch members. Kamilia-san cracked her knuckles. "I'll beat you guys so hard you'll have to pee backwards."

Ibara-san was glaring at Kamijou-san with such venom it would not have been surprising if his skin started melting. But Kamijou-san was staring at Sunohara. "If you explain yourself to Anti-Skill I'm sure they will listen to your story. There's no need to drag this out."

"That's bullshit." Kamilia-san spat. "Anti-Skill doesn't do shit unless ordered to."

"Then we'll have to beat your asses!" Rambo was spouting nonsense, getting shakily to his feet.

"You shut up!" Sunohara roared, and Rambo glared up at her.

"You suddenly show up after so long and want me to shut up! I'm not fucking Rambo, the Guy Who Shuts Up! I'm gunna have to teach you to ignore me, Ricoh!" He stupidly stepped forward, only to be grabbed by the arm by Kamilia-san. "Aghh!" The grimace on his face was inhuman.

"You stay back, mutt!" Kamilia-san barked at him.

Kuroko tested curling her fingers; they stung, but she was able to use them. She glanced at Kamijou-san, and he met her gaze. Nodded..

"I'll help you, Ricoh! Shit! Don't do this to me, you bitch!" Rambo was swearing and glaring at Sunohara, even while his face was becoming paler and paler by the second.

Without saying a word, Sunohara snapped her fingers. There was a sudden crack of thunder; for a second, it reminded Kuroko of Onee-sama's lightning strikes. However this was not lightning, but a regular explosion. It struck the air in front of Kamijou-san, forcing him to shield his face from the blast. If it hit a human directly it would probably be strong enough to blow a nasty hole in their body.

_This is her power? _Kuroko's fingers throbbed.

As if being targeted by her ability had pushed some kind of switch, Kamijou-san let out a cry and charged forward. He went straight for Ibara-san, and the girl looked surprised. Sunohara snapped her fingers again and the air exploded in front of him, but Kamijou-san put his hand out as though it was a shield.

Kuroko teleported to the side of Sunohara and grabbed her arm. As she thought, when the girl was busy directing her power outward, no invisible knives appeared to slice at her.

Sunohara jerked at the contact, and their eyes met as she turned her head around. There was no time to think; Kuroko merely teleported them both.

To get her out of range of the civilians was her main concern. Yet Sunohara was no easy captive. Even while teleporting she turned to claw at Kuroko's arm, and deep cuts appeared on her skin. Disrupted by the pain, she lost concentration and they fell to the roof of the building below them. It was only a few meters, but the impact still had them tumbling over the flat roof. Kuroko crashed into a ventilation shaft and her whole body rattled on the impact. _Where did she go?_

She had hardly thought the question before the air beside the shaft went up in an explosion. _Shit! _Shielding her face, she teleported just a few meters away, landing unsteadily on the rooftop. Sunohara was further away, looking livid.

There was no use talking. For the next minute only exchanges of blows made up the conversation between the former and the current Judgment members. Although with several restrictions, Sunohara's ability let her cut through anything in a radius of ten meters – that included molecules in the air. When split, the energy was released in a violent explosion. Kuroko attempted to dodge the blasts, but they were impossible to predict when they appeared anywhere just from a snap of her fingers, and her head was ringing. Using her teleport was becoming harder and harder. She was knocked from her feet more than once, and even when she defied the explosions and advanced close enough to touch Sunohara, her skin ruptured into wounds. Sunohara knocked her away and Kuroko slid over the surface of the roof, gasping for air.

Sunohara looked on with an empty expression as Kuroko strived to stay on her feet, resting her hands on her knees.

"Why are you even doing this?" The former Judgment member asked. "Why are you willing to go so far, even get yourself so injured, over a mere phone?"

Kuroko gritted her teeth. Her mouth tasted of copper. "A _mere phone_…?"

"How about this?" She dug a hand into her pocket and retrieved the item in question. "If I give you the item you're searching for, would you stop this shit?"

Kuroko snorted. "I am not in the mood for playing games. Also," she smiled ruefully, face stinging from burns and small cuts, "getting hurt was not part of the original plan."

Sunohara cocked her head. "Hmm. Well, all the more reason to quit while you still have the chance, no? If you had the phone, everything would be solved, right? No need to give yourself more work than necessary." She lightly tossed the phone up and down.

Kuroko heaved for breath for a few seconds and then said, "I would not stop."

"Hm?"

"Even if you gave me the phone, I would not stop searching for the ones behind it all. If, after apprehending you, it turns out there are yet more people behind you, I will hunt them down next."

She looked amused. "Well aren't you the hard-headed Judgment member. I believe Judgment training does not cover how to do reckless and stupid things."

"Judgment, huh?" Kuroko grinned. "Perhaps part of it is that. However, there is a much more important reason."

"Oh? Like what?"

Kuroko shakily pulled herself up straight once more. Her vision swayed and she was feeling nauseous; she swallowed several times before speaking. "Whatever your plan is, it's making others suffer. You're hurting our students, hurting civilians which should not be part of this."

Sunohara's expression turned into a grin. "Seriously, Shirai-san, do you really think I care about that right now? Giving me a moral speech isn't going to get you anywhere!" She snapped her fingers again and Kuroko dashed forward, plucking a spike from the belt on her thigh.

"If I quit now, you'd just continue doing this!" The explosions trailed behind her, but like she anticipated, Sunohara's aim was not as quick as her fingers could snap. She concealed the spike in her fist, only the sharp tip poking out between her clenched fingers.

Sunohara sneered at her. "Of course we will!"

"Which would make even more people suffer!" Kuroko was right in front of her; Sunohara gave up snapping her fingers and their fists clashed. Kuroko's hand was slashed open, but this time, Kuroko's strike also did some damage, thanks to the spike hidden in her fist. Sunohara winced and pulled her hand back, but her ability was the true danger. Kuroko's uniform was shredded by the invisible knives in the air, cutting into the skin below. Sunohara's foot pushed her away, and Kuroko stumbled back, sweat running down her face and rivets of pain covering her skin.

Sunohara glared at her, cradling her bleeding hand. She did not suffer the same damages as Kuroko, but perhaps this exchange made her realize the potential of her opponent. Even so, she did not let it faze her.

"When you say 'suffer' it sounds so serious; it's not like anyone's dying out there. Except you, maybe. How long can you stay standing?" She grinned, mirth glowing in her eyes.

Kuroko gasped down air in mouthfuls. "As long as someone's suffering, she won't be able to ignore it." Sunohara's eyes narrowed, but Kuroko hardly noticed. "If I stopped now… if I turned around after coming this far… if I returned home looking like this… Onee-sama…" she gritted her teeth, "Onee-sama would…"

"Onee-sama… you mean Misaka-san?"

Kuroko determination was aflame despite her miserable condition. "If I went home like this, Onee-sama would feel guilty. If people keep suffering, she'll feel it's her responsibility and get involved, no matter how dangerous the situation! That's why –" she stopped to catch her breath, "that's why I will not stop. I will not quit before I've stopped this scheme!" Her fists clenched, blood dripping to the rooftop. In an instant, the spike in her hand appeared lodged in Sunohara's shoulder. The girl's eyes widened at first and then her mouth opened in a scream.

"What the fuck!?"

Kuroko appeared above her and her foot hit her squarely in the head. Sunohara was knocked off her feet and hit the roof with a thump.

Kuroko landed and swayed, holding her head.

In front of her, Sunohara suddenly laughed. The spike was stuck in her shoulder and she cradled the wound, yet her eyes were full of excitement when she sat up.

"Now that's _cool_. You're like the opposite of a hero. You wish to end this before your upperclassman gets involved and saves the day. Why? Because she might get hurt?" She laughed again. "We're talking about the Railgun though. She's a Level 5, you're a Level 4. What can you do that she can't? Why should you try to stop us in her stead? Won't it be smarter for you to call her over right now and end this? Or are you just stupid? Jealous? Wishing to be the hero yourself, for once?"

Kuroko gritted her teeth again as Sunohara-san's question came in rapid succession. "Onee-sama would crush you."

Her expression twisted into a frown. "I won't deny it. Though we've got some good allies, standing up to that frightening power is probably just wishful thinking."

"But it's not right." Kuroko's sight was blurry. _I'm close to fainting…_

She chuckled. "Yeah, something's not right at all. Did you get a few too many hits to your head? Maybe your brain has taken some damage."

Kuroko breathed in and out a couple of times, and then forced herself to focus. "It's not right for us to rely on Onee-sama all the time. It's not right for everyone to put their worries on her back. If I cannot even solve the problems I get myself into, who am I to call myself her partner?" Her voice rose with every word. "How can I expect to stand beside her as an equal if I turn tail and run when things get difficult, leaving everything to her?"

Maybe she was functioning only on the adrenaline in her body right now, but it was too soon to collapse. How could she best take out her opponent now, so close to passing out? Her eyes roamed the rooftop and found the air shaft she'd smacked into at first.

Sunohara looked bored when she got to her feet again, as if even the wound in her shoulder didn't matter at this point. "Well, she _is _a Level 5. I suppose it's only natural that she'd be able to solve things better than you. Besides, how can you even hope to be an _equal_ to someone like her, a Level 5? They're monsters." She stared at Kuroko as though she was trying to defy a natural law of the universe.

"You're right. I can't possibly compare myself to her." Kuroko said, readying herself. "However, measuring everything in power levels is only the way of Academy City. What matters is not your label in this system, but your dedication to whatever it is you're trying to achieve!" She kicked off, sprinting right for the air shaft.

"Are you trying to escape now?" Sunohara yelled after her. "After spouting all those cool words you're running away? Have it your way then!" She pulled her hand down, like drawing a line in the air with her finger. Kuroko jumped aside, just as the air in front of her split open. The shockwave knocked her off her feet and she hit the rooftop. _Damn. That was even more powerful. I have to…_

She forced her mind to cooperate and teleported across the roof, appearing right beside the air shaft.

"I'm surprised you can still move. Are you some kind of robot?" Sunohara grinned, and split the air again.

"Guh—" Kuroko shielded her face, but was blown off her feet once more. Her back hit the rooftop and she gasped for air through the stab of pain in her chest.

"Or did Judgment training get a lot tougher since I went through it?" Sunohara-san was standing still, finger pointed right at her, like a gun ready to fire. Kuroko got up at all fours, breathing heavily. Her legs were shaking and her sight swirling. _I've taken too much damage._ She could not use her ability. _I need… just a minute…_

"I guess there's the possibility you're just extremely stubborn." Sunohara looked amused. "No wonder you're able to deliver such entertaining speeches even as you stand there dripping blood all over. How are you feeling? You look pale."

It felt like her lungs weren't able to get enough air no matter how much she pulled in. "And you call Onee-sama a monster…"

"Heh, that's right. In your eyes, I guess I'm the bad one. However, I am still a regular student of this city, and my power is nothing special. If measured beside yours, it'd probably come out worse. It's this setting that's giving me the advantage. I'm no monster. A monster is something abnormal, something us regular humans cannot compare to, no matter how much we try. Something that's too big and strong to be brought down by regular means, and which can easily destroy us if we don't do anything to prevent it."

Kuroko looked up at the older girl, still gasping for air. "A monster is only a monster as long as it is viewed as something to be afraid of."

"Is that right? Then I guess it's right of me to say I'm afraid of Misaka-san and the other Level 5's. After all, they could kill me in a second if they wanted." It made perfect sense. Yet Kuroko did not like the comparison.

"Going by that logic, isn't the very world itself a monster? You never know what could happen."

Sunohara shrugged. "That's too much to comprehend for a simpleton like me, sadly. I limit my attention to what's in front of me."

"So then, what are you trying to do? Are you plotting something to get rid of the Level 5's? Selling their DNA to outsiders, hoping they'll develop weapons to beat them down?" She snorted.

Sunohara-san frowned. "You're misunderstanding me. Fine, I guess I'll spell it out for you." She scratched her temple, as if in annoyance. "Fighting someone who opposes me for the wrong reasons all-together is a sad thing indeed. Listen, ratface." The term was perhaps meant to provoke, but Kuroko was far too fired up already to care what the other thought of her. "I don't give a rat's ass about the Level 5's. Using them as an example was pure coincidence. Sure, if one of them showed up here to stop me, I'd probably be scared shitless. But luckily, it's just you here, so I'll be fine." She smirked. "The monster I'm fighting isn't something human, though it consists of humans. It's Academy City."

"What…?" Kuroko did not comprehend.

"Academy City is a scary place. Laws and rules protected by students and teachers; please, what is that? Anti-Skill, a bunch of teachers with no experience in handling criminals whatsoever, patrolling the streets hoping to make a difference. If they met with something truly troublesome, they wouldn't stand a chance. And then there's Judgment, which is even worse." Her expression grew dark. "What other place on Earth would use its own kids to uphold law and order? The adults cannot cope with it themselves, so they use us students to keep everything in check. Judgment is just an excuse to use the esper powers for something good, instead of having them run wild.

"But what use is it really, when criminals rise up to riot? Sending teachers and kids at them – it's like trying to fight a forest fire with a bucket of water. So what if you can douse a small part of it? It'll just keep on raging around you, and eventually you'll be overwhelmed."

Kuroko frowned. "I don't follow. You wish to crush Judgment and Anti-Skill?"

Sunohara gazed at her solemnly. "What's the reason for this city to keep relying on something as fragile as law enforcement consisting of children and teachers? In the end, isn't it just creating more turmoil amongst the students, when some of them are supposed to control the rest?" Suddenly her expression turned into a snarl. "If both Anti-Skill and Judgment were rendered useless, it would force the higher-ups to take another look at this setup, and come up with something better. In the meantime, students and teachers would work together to pick up the pieces of this city."

Sunohara was not stupid enough to believe such a better system could be achieved easily.

Kuroko stared at her, eyes wide. "That's just…"

Sunohara-san's grin seemed almost desperate. "You think I'm crazy? Maybe I am. I guess this whole stealing cell phones business doesn't add up easily to this whole thing. But it's just the first step. To even start scratching the surface of this twisted system, one needs the right assets. Assets cost money. And if we can earn money _and _gain control of the city's infrastructure at the same time, all the better for us, huh?"

Kuroko clenched her hands. "Even if that was your reason, hasn't this all gone too far? Making the bots attack everyone… causing this much destruction… did your plan consist of something this shallow!?"

Sunohara's gaze darkened. "Well, I didn't expect there to be a stubborn moron amongst the current Judgment members. Going on a chase after a cleaning bot because it swallowed a phone? Engaging the entire Judgment for that reason alone, even getting Anti-Skill into the mix?" Sunohara-san's grin widened more and more. "Who'd have expected something like that to happen? How do you handle something like that? It's ridiculous! Nobody does that sort of thing!" Her eyes looked completely mad. "Even after all this, you're still over there giving me lectures. How about you shut up instead!" She pulled her finger down, and Kuroko barely managed to throw herself aside when the air split.

"I'll kill you if I have to; then I'll make sure the damage to Judgment and Anti-Skill is so great they'll never be the same again!"

"Kh—!" Kuroko shielded her face as explosion after explosion struck near her; she sat behind the air ventilation shaft, trying to make herself as small as possible.

"Even if I go down in the process, the rest of us will keep fighting!" Sunohara yelled at the top of her lungs to be heard over the racket of explosions. Splinters of the roof rained around them. She wasn't even aiming at this point. "Even if we are stopped, others will pick up the thread and keep it up until there's nothing left!"

Kuroko winced as a piece of debris hit her shoulder; her skin was burning all over from the heat of the explosions. _I need to do it now! _She threw herself forward and turned around towards the hand hit her chest and her school vest disappeared. It appeared inside the ventilation shaft, and the metal broke off its base on one side. _Not enough! _Her shirt went as well, and the shaft was loose.

"Even if everyone's stopped eventually, the damage will be so great that no one else will suffer because of this ridiculous system!" In her rage, all of Sunohara-san's feelings were being focused on Kuroko. Her plan had failed and she had nothing left to do but lash out.

Kuroko dove forward, touching the metal with the tip of her fingers. Then both she and the shaft disappeared.

Sunohara might have defenses but she was no Level 5. When Kuroko and the piece of shaft appeared above her, she had no automatic repelling or radar to warn her. The metal struck Sunohara's head with Kuroko's weight on top. They crashed to the roof, and despite the numerous wounds and burns and the spin in her head, Kuroko still managed to gain a hold on her arms, securing the other girl in a tight hold.

"Seems like quitting Judgment has made you rusty, senpai." She smirked.

"Kh –" Sunohara pulled at her arms, and winced.

"If you try to fight, I will dislocate your shoulder." Kuroko informed her pleasantly.

"Damn – fuck!" Sunohara moved what little she could of her right hand.

"Wha – are you—!" Kuroko had no time to stop her before the air split beside them. The explosive power knocked Kuroko off her catch, and she was completely blinded. _At this distance she'll be hurt too! _She squinted, hearing nothing, and seeing just white light in front of her eyes. There was a strange sensation below her feet, as if the roof had just dropped a few centimeters. _Don't tell me the roof is—! _Terror tore through her just as the surface of the roof gave in.

XXX

Touma struck at Ibara-san and was immediately blocked by Kamilia-san.

It seemed like the curly-headed Judgment member was set on protecting the long-haired one, but there was no room for tactics in Touma's mind at the moment. He clenched his left fist and it flew towards Kamilia-san's abdomen.

"Tch!" The girl gritted her teeth and dodged sideways, just in time to see Rambo dive forward and wrap his working arm around Ibara-san's throat.

"Ibara!" Kamilia-san shrieked, but Touma did not give her room to act. He struck again and again, his body working on instinct and his brain purely focused on administering signals to his muscles.

"What the fuck is wrong with you guys!?" Kamilia-san blocked again and again, tried to use her ability and had it dispelled against Touma's Imagine Breaker.

Rambo's eyes were feverish yet he tightened the hold around Ibara's neck and the girl squealed, gasping in short breaths of air.

"Ibaraaa!" Kamilia-san roared and ducked below Touma's next punch, swiping his feet away from under him. He crashed to the ground and Ibara jumped over him with a fierce battle cry.

Blinding light and a splitting crack through the air put an abrupt stop to any advances as the asphalt beside them exploded. Touma was too exhausted to move, but he recognized the feeling washing over him and for once, it was a relief.

Misaka was walking towards them. Electricity crackled from her bangs and she had her hands on her hips.

"I have no idea what's going on here, but the next person to move will be fried." She stopped and regarded their struggle with a disapproving glare.

From behind her peeked a white-clad nun, and she gasped sharply. "Touma!"

Kamilia-san had stopped, clenching her fists and shaking from rage.

"Woaah, they really did a number of this place." A longhaired girl who Touma remembered borrowing a lucky charm from once looked at the café with huge eyes.

Misaka sighed. "So? Care to explain things yet?" She looked from Touma to Kamilia to the pair of Rambo and Ibara, gaze narrowing. "Are you fighting Judgment now?"

"Touma!" Index puffed her cheeks out and marched towards his beaten up form. "I am very disappointed in you! Not only do I not see any bags from the supermarket, but you went and got yourself hurt again! How am I supposed to get food while you're in the hospital!?" Touma cursed his lack of fortune as the nun gripped his collar and started shaking him.

Mikoto glanced at the two, when the curly-headed Judgment member spoke up. "Are you fucking stupid!? What the hell are you doing, don't you see we're Judgment?"

Saten-san inched back, but Mikoto was unimpressed. "That's the only reason I didn't strike you down at once. I know for sure that guy didn't destroy the café though. Was it him?" She nodded at the guy holding the other girl in a chokehold; he looked to be ready to faint by now. "Or did Judgment start causing collateral damage while arresting people?"

"This is none of your business!" She sounded desperate.

Mikoto sighed deeply and stared at the sky. "I see." Then she flashed them a big smile. "I guess we'll just be on our way then."

Saten-san's eyes widened and Mikoto turned around. "Let's go, Saten-san."

She had barely taken a single step before the Judgment girl exploded. "Just who do you think you're making fun of, you bastard!? Just because you're Level 5—"

She was cut off by the rumbling sound of what sounded like a building collapsing. Mikoto raised her gaze and saw a column of smoke and dust rising into the sky from a building further along the street. _What—?_

"Shirai-san! Ricoh!" The bearded guy suddenly snapped awake and dropped the girl in his grasp. Without a second thought he ran off down the street, passing by Mikoto and Saten-san in a flurry.

"Wha – Kuroko?" Mikoto's eyes grew wide and then Saten-san shoved her forward. There was a loud thwump and Saten-san cried in pain. Mikoto registered how she collapsed to the ground on her hands and knees. "Saten-san!" Mikoto turned around, and seeing the tears in Saten-san's eyes, her teeth gritted. The Judgment girl looked shocked, and when Mikoto glared at her, the girl's face paled.

"Wait – I didn't mean to hit her!"

Her excuse was lost in a violent lightning strike that knocked her out instantly.

XXX

Kuroko awoke with the horrible feeling that she'd forgotten something important. When she saw the hole in the ceiling above her, it took a few seconds before she remembered where she was and what had happened. _The ceiling…_ The rooftop had been struck too many times by Sunohara-san's explosions, and that last one made it collapse. _W__hich means… right now…_ She was looking up at the hole; in other words, she was still alive. Lying on the floor below. Her right eye felt sticky; she was unsure if she could see anything with it. The right side of her face was numb, and her skin felt burnt all over. Those last few explosions had been too close.

She turned her head, and winced at the pain shooting through her body. She must have landed hard; debris below and on top of her body. She was just lucky she hadn't been buried by it all. It looked like they had fallen to the next level of the building. Wires hung from the splintered ceiling above, and a few bent pipes poked out into the air.

_At least I can still move._ Or move her head, more precisely. She bit her teeth together and slowly tried to sit up. Her limbs screamed, her chest aflame. Biting against the pain, she shoved debris from her chest and sat up, trying to see past the spin in her head.

A groan to her left made her tense, and she looked over. Sunohara-san laid there, one hand holding her head. A stripe of blood ran down her temple; she looked to be in pain. A large piece of the ceiling was pressing against her lower body; Kuroko could not tell whether it had crushed her, but she looked to be trapped.

"So stubborn." Muttering to herself, Kuroko somehow made her way down to the other girl, and gently slapped her cheek. "Are you awake?"

"Ugh…" The girl slowly opened her eyes and looked up at her, obviously groggy. "You… still…?"

"Did you expect me to have gone somewhere? After bringing down the entire roof on us, I'm surprised you're not worse off." She observed the large piece of debris trapping the older girl. It was too heavy for a person to move alone. _If I can use my ability…_ Kuroko put a hand on Sunohara-san's arm and concentrated. _Damn._ Her head was still swimming.

"Heh." Sunohara-san's low laugh made her open her eyes. The upperclassman looked amused, yet her eyes did not smile in the slightest. "Way to go, fixing problems like this."

"I feel obliged to remind you that you were the cause of the roof collapsing."

"As if I'd have done that if you weren't here. We're both equally guilty."

Kuroko sighed.

Sunohara-san looked up at her from below her hand. She might be hiding a wound, as it seemed more blood kept trickling down her face. "Aren't you mad?"

Kuroko blinked. "Mad?"

"Because you're in Judgment, you ended up in a situation like this. Had you been just a normal student, you wouldn't have been injured or down here with me. If I were you, I'd be livid."

Kuroko watched her face solemnly. It seemed like she was serious, but at the same time, her expression held a sort of sadness.

"This is not Judgment's fault. I got involved this far on my own."

"I see, I guess it is different in that sense. However, don't you think it's unfair that you have to involve yourself? Shouldn't someone else have taken care of this instead of you?"

"Who might that be?" Her thoughts immediately travelled to her Onee-sama, but she shoved it away.

Sunohara-san smiled ruefully. "Does it matter? Is it alright with you that you're left with the responsibility to do something?"

Kuroko watched her with a sober expression, and the girl laughed shortly. "Your face says you don't get it at all. Fine, just leave it at that."

"I am not sure what you are implying, but getting involved in this was wholly my own decision." Kuroko would not blame anyone else for the situation she'd ended up in.

"For your _Onee-sama_, huh? Still, even if she's a Level 5 who can do anything, doing the grown-up's jobs just isn't right, is it?"

"Onee-sama is a civilian."

Sunohara-san looked up at her in surprise. "I see. You mean that by joining Judgment, you already accepted the responsibility, huh."

"I am always ready to do whatever it takes to help the students of this city."

"As righteous as they come too. Damn, I really hate your kind." She smiled, closing her eyes. "You remind me of myself."

Kuroko wasn't sure if that was meant as a compliment. "I believe I would not have resorted to blowing up buildings in your stead."

She chuckled and hid her eyes beneath her arm. "Shut the hell up." Wet tears trickled down beneath her arm and Kuroko sighed. Sliding down beside the rubble trapping Sunohara-san, she put a hand on her head in a hopeless attempt at steadying her vision.

For a long time they just sat there, and then Kuroko started picking up sounds. Sirens. So Anti-Skill was finally on scene, or perhaps it was ambulances and firefighters. From the outside the dust and smoke must look like a fire.

Somewhere an alarm started howling. Kuroko gazed ahead in a daze, wondering why it hadn't gone off before now.

It took another minute or two before a door was flung open in the end of the room. Kuroko's heart surged for a second and then fell; it was Rambo, looking pale and sweaty, arm hanging limply from his side.

"Shirai-san! Ricoh!" He shouted and stumbled into the room, climbing over rubble and hissing in pain when his footing slipped, sending a jolt through his arm.

"Rambouno…?" Sunohara-san sounded surprised, disbelieving even.

The thug came all the way over to them and leaned on the piece of rubble over Sunohara-san. His eyes were glossy and he looked feverish.

"Damnit, Ricoh! What the hell are you doing?"

"Shut up." She turned her head away, but her voice was thick.

Rambo pushed on the rubble with his good arm but quickly had to give in. Sliding down to his knees, he breathed unevenly a couple of times and then turned against Kuroko.

"Shirai-san."

She glanced at him, surprised at seeing the sober expression on his face. He raised his good hand and put it on her shoulder, squeezing it lightly.

"I'm sorry." He looked down. "There cannot be anything between us."

Kuroko bristled. "That has never been an option in the first place!"

But Rambo was not listening, as he leaned down and pulled Sunohara-san's head towards him, before kissing her lips fiercely.

"Ugh—!?" Kuroko's eyes widened and she backed off, at first expecting more explosions – but Sunohara might be crying, yet she still kissed him back, gasping for air and cradling his head.

Kuroko turned her head away, reddening quite a lot.

"Kuroko!"

Stopping in the same door opening that Rambo had entered, she stood, looking stressed, and jerking at the sight of the pair making out further into the room. Kuroko's heart surged in her throat and her lips pulled up into a giant smile.

"Onee-sama!"

Shaking off her reddening cheeks, Onee-sama climbed over the debris and came to her, eyes trembling as she took in her form. "What the hell are you doing? You look terrible!" Before Kuroko could answer her roommate enveloped her in a hug. For a few seconds they just sat there, and Kuroko's surprise gave way for exhausted happiness. Onee-sama's school jacked brushed by her sore skin, cool against the burns.

Not long after a panting Saten-san appeared in the doorway as well, followed by two Anti-Skill officers and medical personnel. Kuroko's smile grew even bigger, and, still wrapped in Onee-sama's arms, she finally slid into darkness.

XXX

Touma sighed deeply and left the store with a small bag in his hand. In it was a certain green Gekota phone – finally cleaned and repaired. Shirai-san had come by and delivered it to him the day before, demanding he take it to get it repaired since she was busy with the aftermath of the whole All-Eating bot case. As far as he'd gathered, the phone had been considered evidence by Anti-Skill and Shirai-san had only just managed to beg them into giving it back.

He rubbed the back of his head with another sigh. _So much work… but at least it all turned out okay. _A small smile spread on his lips after all.

"Ya'know, if the floor did't wohble soow much, I'd bee at hum baj nohw." Suddenly, someone hung onto his shoulder; he yelped and pulled back, seeing a woman that was quite obviously drunk. She gazed at him with an unsteady stare and grinned. "Hey ther', wanna have some fuuun?" She reached out and grabbed his right arm again, rubbing it quite firmly into her chest.

Touma was getting nervous, since the woman was not at all bad-looking; long black hair flowing down her back, and behind the alcohol he could catch a hint of a pleasant perfume. While sober she might actually look great.

"I think you should be on your way home." He suggested.

"Aaah, you're no fun." She pouted. But she didn't let go of his arm. "Why don't you joihn me, prrrrretty booy?"

"Aaah, thanks, but, no thanks." Why hadn't Anti-Skill already picked this one up? Usually they were quick about sending drunk grown-ups home from the streets, especially in the middle of the day.

For that matter, who was usually drunk in the middle of the day anyway?

"Maaah, you're quite the prrrretty one, ya know?" The woman leaned forward to stroke his cheek, and Touma instinctively tried to pull back.

_Bzzzt._ The hairs on his neck suddenly stood on ends; he knew that sound. Crackling, fizzling, like electric charges snapping into the air; slowly, he turned his head, and there she was.

Already red-faced, Mikoto looked like she might explode at any moment, blue crackles leaving her bangs in dangerous zaps.

"M-Misaka…" He felt rather terrified of seeing her right now; with his right hand trapped like this, he wouldn't be able to block her lightning strikes, and he was holding her newly repaired phone too.

"You…" Mikoto muttered, barely even audible, "are the worst…"

"W-wait!" He waved his left hand with the grocery bag in it. "I didn't do anything! It was her –"

"Yeah right. It's always someone else's fault, isn't it?" The currents only seemed to grow fiercer. "For me finding a new phone seems impossible, but you're finding women all over the place..."

Touma sweat-dropped, not sure that accusation was an accurate one. "A-Actually, Misa—"

"Oooh, here's anuther prretty one!" All of a sudden, the woman let go of his arm and strode forward, right towards Mikoto. "Hey, girlie, yoooou're not bad either ya'know?" She blatantly approached the Level 5 electromaster who was spitting electric currents into the air, not even minding that fact at all. Mikoto was taken by surprise, and her electricity died off when the woman suddenly intruded upon her privacy zone.

"Wha – hey!" She protested as the woman grabbed her chin with one hand, and wrapped her other arm around Mikoto's body, pulling her close. "Wha-wha-what a-are you doing!?" Mikoto was completely flabbergasted and petrified at once. Not to mention trapped.

The woman gazed at her sensually, almost sober in comparison to her earlier looks. "Ooh, girls like you _totally_ turn me on~"

_WHAT?_ Mikoto grew completely red-faced, and Touma gaped; this situation didn't seem too great either. "U-um, lady, excuse me, but I really think you should be going home!" He tried voicing his concerns.

"And I'll haav this wone wiv me…" The woman smirked and let her fingers trace Mikoto's jaw line clumsily; she shuddered and tried to make some room between them at least, putting her hands on her midriff and pushing off.

"P-please don't – I'm not really – you're obviously drunk!" This was also a bothersome predicament; frying her hardly seemed appropriate, yet… _She won't let go! _She was horribly strong for being so drunk, and holding Mikoto tightly. She could hardly make room for air between them at all.

"Indeed, I am drunch – on yoou…" The woman lowered her head, still holding Mikoto's chin; Mikoto's eyes spun in complete circles, terror tearing through her chest.

"S-s-s-s-stop!" She put her hands up to halt her descent, using all her strength to keep her face away from her own. "Y-you're even creepier than Kuroko!" And who knew that was even possible.

The woman didn't listen, and continued to make kissing motions with her lips.

Mikoto glared over at Touma and barked: "Hey you! G-get over here and help me, will you!"

Touma was still flabbergasted at the scene in front of him, but snapped out of it. "Aah – o-okay!" And he stepped forward – just as a couple of shoe heels hit his temple right dead on. He was sent to the floor in a tumbling heap; Mikoto gazed at the scene in horror.

"To think you were trying to run away." Kuroko huffed, dusting invisible dust off her sleeve. "I need to keep an eye on you from now on, it seems."

"K-Kuroko!" Mikoto spluttered.

"Onee-sama?" Kuroko turned her head and looked, and her eyes grew completely wide. "O-O-O-ONEE-SAMA! What are you doing, standing in such a revealing position in the middle of the mall!? AND WHO IS THAT WOMAN?"

"I don't know who she is!" Mikoto barked, growing even redder. "Quit having your delusions over there by yourself and come help me out!"

Kuroko teleported over and grabbing the woman by her wrist. In two short seconds she had her cuffed, and escorted away by a passing Anti-Skill officer.

"Honestly, in the middle of the day…" Kuroko huffed.

"Thanks." Mikoto breathed out, and Kuroko's pigtails twitched.

"Of course, Onee-sama, if you have such desires then Kuroko is always willing to step in and assist~" She swayed her hips seductively.

Mikoto gave her a pointed look. "Should you be out and about already?"

The teleporter was pretty much covered in bandages, but she had somehow begged herself into being discharged prematurely on the promise of doing absolutely nothing. Yet she had barely even been in the dorm room the past few days, too busy working at the Judgment branch office.

"Don't worry, Onee-sama, with all that's going on after the cleaning bot incident all I've been doing is paperwork. I can't leave Uiharu and Konori-senpai with everything."

Mikoto rubbed her neck. "Right… they're doing a pretty thorough job at investigating Judgment, huh."

"Indeed. It seems like Sunohara Ricoh's wish was at least partly fulfilled." Kuroko glanced down at Touma, who was still on the ground. "Do I have to arrest you for littering?"

He groaned and got to his feet. "Such misfortune."

Kuroko sighed. "I hope you haven't forgotten the assignment I gave you."

He rubbed his head. "No, Shirai-dono, I haven't." He held out the plastic bag towards her.

Kuroko smiled. "I think it would be only fair to give you the honor this time. After all, you were a big help, when it came down to it."

He glanced at the bag, then at Mikoto's puzzled face, and for a second his cheeks felt warm. Picking out the box from the bag he handed it to her. "Here. It should be all fine now."

Mikoto blinked and accepted the box. "What is it?"

"Open it, Onee-sama." Kuroko smiled.

She did, sliding the top box off the bottom, and her eyes widened. Kuroko approved of the sparkles in her eyes and then Mikoto's expression became incredible as the most amazing smile she had ever seen spread across it. Kuroko's eyes widened but she only got a second to look at it before the electromaster was hugging them both, nearly pulling them off their feet.

"Thank you!" Kuroko stared ahead and then blinked, looking at Kamijou-san who seemed equally unsettled, a slight blush on his face. They exchanged a glance and then they both smiled.

XXX

"Hey boss." In a dark corner in a dark building a man knelt before his gang leader. "Someone's here to see you."

"Tell them to piss off." He spat on the floor, crossing his legs as he sank deeper into the sofa. "I ain't got time. The new shipment still hasn't come in and that prick bailed on me. I'm not in the mood!"

"I tried, boss. He insists on seeing you."

The muscular gang boss let out a deep sigh. "Fine."

The thug bowed and backed off, pulling the door to the room open. Outside stood four more gang members, and a stranger, with a girl on his arm. The boss frowned, seeing his arm in a cast.

"Who the fuck are you?"

The guy grinned. "I'm Rambo the Destroyer."

"And I'm Sunohara Ricoh." The girl beside him drew herself up and flicked her hair over her shoulder.

The boss spat again. "What the hell do you want?"

The guy called Rambo was grinning so confidently it made the boss' hairs stand on end.

"We're here to destroy your gang."

What the fuck? The boss glanced around the room as if looking for candid cameras.

"I guess Anti-Skill are as useless as ever, sending us out on something like this rather than lock us up. Still," the girl shrugged, "beats prison."

The boss leaned forward in surprise when the wall to his right cracked open and sunlight flittered in. There stood a curly-headed girl with one of his guys held by his collar, apparently knocked out. He was about to yell for his other guys when he realized a third girl had shown up behind the pair in front of him, and somehow she had knocked them all out with a whistle.

The boss was starting to sweat. "Who the fuck are you guys?"

"We…" eyes glinting, they all spoke up in unison, "are BREAK!"

* * *

><p>END(?)<p>

**Note:**

Ages ago, I had an idea. It went slightly askew due to bad planning, and the story was reeled in with force. This thing was going in all kinds of different directions and I nearly lost hope.

Instead of leaving it be and ignore the problem, I decided to muscle through and end the story. It was pretty much finished anyhow without introducing even more complicated matters. I apologize in advance for any loose threads left hanging; please use your imagination for those!

Thanks for hanging out with me throughout this, and hope you enjoyed the ride.

Much thanks to GreatSnapper for being supportive about getting this done!


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